John Freeman–the No. 1 “top reviewer” tracked at the Publishers Marketplace Book Review Index (with 576 reviews noted since October 2002 (yes that’s about 125 books a year, with 65 percent positive reviews, and just 7 percent pans)–is taking a staff job. As of January he will join Granta Magazine as their American editor, reporting to Alex Clark. “Working closely with Granta’s headquarters in London, he will develop an ambitious program of author events and provide a vital connection between the magazine, US-based writers and Granta’s North American and Canadian readership.”
Personnel
"The Most Dangerous Man in Publishing"
In a year of honors for former Grove publisher Barney Rosset, Newsweek has a long feature article: “On a recent afternoon, Rosset sat on a worn leather couch with a book of Beckett’s and a binder of his letters with the Nobel laureate. He was working on his autobiography, The Subject Is Left-Handed–a title taken from his FBI file, which his wife, Astrid Myers, was paging through at a small table nearby. Rosset has been working on the book for years. ‘I don’t know what the publisher wants,’ he said. ‘No idea. Been in the same job for many years–I […]
People
PeopleMary McGrath is joining Simon & Schuster as director of DSRM, Children’s Sales, reporting to Mary Marotta. She has been at Random House for 17 years and for the past five was the director of sales, adult mass merchandise. PW has named Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos as their “person of the year.” Primarily a rehash of things you already know, they do elicit a few interesting remarks from Bezos in an interview. Speaking of physical book sales, he notes that despite Amazon’s deep selection, “the vast majority of sales is in the top tens of thousands of titles, not throughout […]
Richter to Leave S&S; The Other Applebaum Stays
Simon & Schuster Children’s president Rick Richter has resigned “to explore other opportunities in publishing,” leaving December 5. He has run the unit since 2003, and has been with Simon & Schuster since 1996 (when he also ran the children’s unit before switching over to sales and distribution). CEO Carolyn Reidy notes that “under his leadership, Children’s division revenues have nearly doubled, and the division has grown to become an industry-leading full-service publishing enterprise.” She underscores that “children’s publishing remains an important and vital part of Simon & Schuster’s overall publishing portfolio” and indicateDennis Eulau will “work with the children’s […]
Dismantling of HMH Continues with Firings
Galleycat reports that Ann Patty says she has been “fired” along with “a lot” of other employees at Harcourt Houghton Mifflin, adding to the community’s sense that the parent company has simply given up on the trade line. Place your takeover bids now.
Random Drops the Next Shoe: Rubin and Applebaum Stepping Down in Reorg
The Random House reorganization everyone has been expecting under new ceo Markus Dohle was announced this morning. President and publisher of the Bantam Dell group Irwyn Applebaum is leaving the company immediately after 25 years there. Dohle calls him “one of the most successful publishers in our industry. He is widely regarded as a champion of great storytelling, with marketing acumen to match.” The publishing line itself is being absorbed by the Random House group, under Gina Centrello, along with the Spiegel & Grau unit that had been part of Doubleday. It puts the company’s two big mass-market lines together […]