Grupo Planeta has hired Cristóbal Pera as vp and publisher, “to reinforce and revitalize the Group’s editorial presence in the US market,” leading an office in Miami that will reopen in January 2022. The company will “consolidate its operations in the United States and Puerto Rico” there and plans to “focus its editorial program on a curated selection tailored to the market in the United States.” Most recently, Pera was publishing director at Vintage Español. Planeta ceo for Latin America José Calafell says in the announcement, “The market for books in Spanish in the US has undergone a profound transformation. […]
Personnel
Publishing Workers Feel the Burn Out
Princeton University Press recently announced their U.S. and U.K. offices would close the week of Aug. 30. “This has been a year of extraordinary new endeavors and collaborations, as well as unprecedented new challenges,” the company wrote on their website. “The risk of burnout is high and so are the August temperatures. Looking ahead to seasonal change, and with it a shift to hybrid work, the Princeton University Press teams are taking a week for renewal and wellness.” It’s the latest measure taken by a publisher to help combat the stresses of the past year and a half. Macmillan reportedly […]
International: Fest and Schieder to Leave Rowohlt for DTV
Alexander Fest, long-serving publisher at Germany’s Rowohlt until stepping down in 2014 to work as editor at large, is leaving the company at the end of January 2022 after more than 20 years, to join DTV as consulting publisher in spring 2022. Buchmarket observes that, “With this, the traditional company is losing a piece of its DNA.” CEO of Holtzbrinck Germany Alexander Lorbeer says in the announcement, “I regret and respect Alexander Fest’s personal decision. Even if he will be with the publisher until the beginning of next year, I would like to express our special thanks to him today for his […]
Most ViacomCBS Employees Won’t Return to Offices Until At Least Mid-October
ViacomCBS ceo Bob Bakish told employees on Wednesday that most staffers will not start returning to the office until October 18 “at the very earliest,” as the company monitors the Delta variant. Bakish wrote that their broader “green phase,” when most of the employees are expected to resume some office presence, would start in late October and still comprise a hybrid work model at that point. Simon & Schuster follows all ViacomCBS policies. Any employees who return prior to the October 18 date will be required to be fully vaccinated, except for “certain union, production and essential on-site personnel.” Bakish […]
Harper Collins Plans Hybrid Work Model for October
Harper Collins announced that, beginning October 4, employees in New York, Princeton, and Montage, PA will be expected to return to the office 2-3 days a week. Each person’s schedule will depend on their role and office location; the Boston and San Francisco offices will remain closed for now. This will be a pilot program intended to run for four months to figure out “what works and what doesn’t” for employees and the company. After that, the company plans to “transition into a more formal, required work model which will incorporate what we’ve learned.” The company says that there will […]
Hay Festival Founder Resigns After Investigation
Hay literary festival founder and director Peter Florence has resigned after the board upheld an independent investigation over an internal allegation of bullying. Florence was suspended in October, and the board will now be looking for a new director. In a statement, Florence criticized the process, saying: “I consider that my role had become untenable due to the conduct of the board and its insistence on holding a disciplinary hearing in my absence whilst I was off sick following a breakdown.” The organization said, “This decision followed a thorough and extensive process, which considered substantial supporting evidence. As the board […]