Blogger and executive publisher of two lines of technical books in Wiley’s professional/trade division Joe Wikert has joined O’Reilly Media as general manager for O’Reilly Technology Exchange. That division publishes O’Reilly’s core manuals for developers and systems managers. Wikert is “spearheading the expansion of the OTX publishing program into a broader offering that spans print, online, and in-person products and services.” In the UK, former chief executive of Virgin Publishing Adrian Sington is leading the start-up of DCD Publishing, a subsidiary of TV production and distribution company DCD Media, according to BookBrunch, a new UK service from Liz Thomson and […]
Personnel
People
Critical Mass says that NYT Book Review senior editor Dwight Garner has had enough and “tells us he’s leaving the Book Review very soon to become a book critic for the daily edition” of the newspaper. Jordan Brown will join the Harper Children’s imprint Walden Pond Press later this month, reporting to Brenda Bowen. He was an assistant editor at Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum. Brown will work with Debbie Kovacs at Walden Media to “craft a launch list for the imprint and to acquire and edit some eight books a year,” while acquiring and editing for Bowen Press as well. In […]
Company News: Lulu Layoffs; Harper Studio UK; and More
Lulu.com is laying off 24 employees, almost a quarter of their workforce of 100. The reductions include recently-hired president Bryce Boothby Jr. and European vp Cristel Lee Leed. The company plans to relocate its headquarters from Morrisville, NC to Raleigh within the next few months. CEO Bob Young tells NewMediaAge “with the credit and capital markets frozen solid Lulu couldn’t continue burning through money at its previous pace. We’re very disappointed…. we were forced into a position of having to cut costs.” Bob Miller’s Harper Studio has made an agreement with Harper UK to provide for direct publication in the […]
People, and More
At Holt’s Metropolitan Books, Sara Bershtel has been promoted to vp, publisher. Elsewhere at Holt, Karen Frangipane has been hired as director of marketing for Holt Children’s. She was at Simon and Schuster. Gordon Willoughby will take over as the head of the book business at Amazon.co.uk tomorrow. He was vp of operations and customer support for Europe at eBay. Willoughby will report to vp of media Christopher North. In Europe, Lulu.com has layed off “almost a quarter of its employees,” with European vp Cristel Lee Leed among the 24 people being let go. CEO Bob Young tells NewMediaAge “with […]
People: No Jones at Frankfurt, and More
With the US publication date of Sherry Jones‘s JEWEL OF MEDINA moved up from the original release of October 15, Beaufort Books publisher Eric Kampmann says she will stay in the US to promote rather than visit the Frankfurt Book Fair as originally planned. He tells the Bookseller, “This is nothing to do with threats or fear, it is simply because of the acceleration of publication.” The offices of UK publisher Gibson Square remain closed following the firebomb attempt earlier this month. At Harper UK, Christopher Wold has been promoted to international publisher, reporting to David Swarbrick, managing director of […]
Greenwood Publishing Office to Close
Following the license of Greenwood Publishing Group’s imprints and titles to ABC-CLIO, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will close Greenwood’s Connecticut office and layoff approximately 150 employees as a result, a source tells Westport Now. That source says layoffs will begin in early December. The owner of the office building “said he understands that some workers have been offered jobs in Santa Barbara, Calif., and in Colorado.”