Margaret Raymo has elected to take the new position of senior executive editor, at Houghton Mifflin Children’s, a “purely editorial role” that will let her focus on discovering and working with authors and illustrators. Raymo says “I’m very happy to be able to put all my energy back into creating books.” As a result, Mary Wilcox has been promoted to vp, editorial director for Houghton Mifflin Children’s, while continuing as editorial director of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s. Abrams has hired Lindy Humphreys for the new position of director, digital assets and publishing technology, to “oversee our digital initiatives and help […]
Personnel
Agent Ralph Vicinanza Dies
Clients of literary agent Ralph Vicinanza, 60, were reportedly notified by the agency this evening that he died suddenly in his sleep last night from a cerebral aneurysm. Locus Magazine has a brief report, and at least some clients have posted to Twitter as well. The agency reports that his family is having viewings on Wednesday the 29th from 7-9 PM and Thursday the 30th from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM at McGrath & Son Funeral Home, 20 Cedar Road, Bronxville, NY. A mass will be held Friday, October 1 at 10:30 AM at St. Ann’s Church, 854 Midland Ave., […]
People, Etc.
Author, agent, film and television producer and publishing executive Stanley L. Colbert died on September 21 in Toronto, Canada. He was Sterling Lord’s original partner in the Lord & Colbert Agency (with Lord handling magazine sales and Colbert selling to book publishers). As an agent he found a home for Jack Kerouac’s ON THE ROAD after Robert Giroux couldn’t sort out the author’s second manuscript and sent him to Colbert. But Kerouac drove a falling out with Lord and Colbert became an editor at Henry Holt. He moved to LA in 1956 to head the literary department at the William […]
People, Distribution, Etc.
Black Dog & Leventhal has signed with the new Abrams and Chronicle Books London-based distribution service for export sales in the UK, Ireland, European export, Japan, Korea and “several other international markets” starting on January 1, 2011. Separately, they have signed with Murdoch Books for sales and distribution in Australia, also as of January 1. (They have been using Scribo/Bookwise in Australia.) At Bellevue Press, Erika Goldman has been promoted to publisher and editorial director, and Leslie Hodgkins has moved up to associate editor.
People, Awards, Etc.
Managing director of De Fontein/Tirion in Holland Geneviève Waldmann will also runs VBK’s Kosmos as of October 1, though both houses “will maintain their separate identities.” Later this year De Fontein/Tirion will relocate to Utrecht to join with Kosmos physically. Senior publicity manager at William Morrow Jennifer Slattery has left her position to travel to Australia for the next 6 months. Judith Merkle Riley, author of six historical novels (Vision of Light, In Pursuit of the Green Lion, The Water Devil, The Oracle Glass, The Serpent Garden and The Master of All Desires) and a professor of political science at […]
People, Etc.
Joe Scalora has moved over to the Random House Publishing Group’s marketing department as associate manager, working on the Del Rey and Spectra lists, as well as the Star Wars and graphic novel publishing programs. He was a publicist for the group. Former managing director of the UK’s The Friday Project Clare Christian has started a web-based service offering “friendly independent advice on self-publishing.” Edwards Brothers has hired Andrew Pate for the new position of director of digital and program sales, part of their expansion into short-run offset, digital and print-on-demand book and journal manufacturing. Alibris Holdings has renamed itself […]