People Robin Cutler has joined LMBPN Publishing as president of worldwide publishing. Cutler previously worked for Ingram Content Group for over nine years, leading the development and launch of IngramSpark. At Canongate, Joanna Lord has been promoted to head of UK and digital sales; Nadine Luchsinger to sales operations manager; and Katalina Watt to audio and digital executive. Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote a piece for the New York Times exploring the future of literature post-Trump. He asks, in 2021, “will writers, especially white writers, take a deep breath of relief and retreat back to the politics of the apolitical, which […]
Personnel
Briefs
Riky Stock will join North South Books as managing director on January 1. She will focus on “strengthening transatlantic ties to the company’s head office in Zurich, Switzerland and developing a more international approach to marketing and communications.” Stock was head of the German Book Office in New York and represented the Frankfurt Book Fair in the US. (That office was recently closed.) One of the year’s unanswered questions has been what France’s Vivendi — and controlling owner Vincent Bolloré — wants from its sizable 27 percent stage in Lagardere. Reuters suggests the battle for control of the company may […]
People, Etc.
Beth Polcari has been promoted to president, international, at Scholastic, starting January 1. She succeeds Nelson Hitchcock, who will retire at the end of the year after 15 years. Rose Else-Mitchell is rejoining the company as president, education solutions, and will work with current Scholastic Education president Greg Worrell and Polcari to combine their existing divisions into a single education solutions group over the next six months, which Ms. Else-Mitchell will lead starting June 1. After the transition, Worrell will continue to advise on strategic partnerships until his retirement in December 2021 after 30 years. Polcari, Else-Mitchell, and Worrell will […]
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Chuck Adams is leaving his full-time position as executive editor of Algonquin Books, after 16 years. He will continue on as editor-at-large for Algonquin, working with authors he has edited in the past. Additionally, he plans to continue developmental and editorial work on a freelance basis. Maya Fernandez has been promoted to associate editor at Beacon Press. Kate Johnson will become senior vice president of direct for Harper Christian and Harper Focus. Michelle Richter has been promoted to senior agent at Fuse Literary. Rachelle Gardner is launching Gardner Literary, a full-service agency “representing diverse authors at the crossroads of faith […]
People: Grove Promotes Executives, Boosts Starting Salaries; Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Forms Imprint with Random House
At Grove Atlantic, Peter Blackstock is promoted to vp, deputy publisher, and his new responsibilities including beginning to work with ceo and publisher Morgan Entrekin on matters relating to business and finance. Amy Hundley is promoted to vp, executive editor, while continuing as director of subsidiary rights. More broadly, the company will raise their starting salary to $40,000 for full-time employees. A new executive committee has been formed to help with “day-to-day running of the company and larger business decisions.” It comprises Elisabeth Schmitz, Judy Hottensen and Deb Seager, as well as Hundley, Blackstock and Entrekin. Entrekin said in the […]
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John le Carré, the pen name of David Cornwell, 89, who wrote The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, A Perfect Spy, Tinker, Tailer, Solidier Spy, and many more, died of pneumonia December 12, in Cornwall, England. Johnny Geller, his longtime agent at Curtis Brown UK, said in an announcement on Sunday night, “John le Carré was an undisputed giant of English literature. He defined the Cold War era and fearlessly spoke truth to power in the decades that followed.” Brian Tart, president & publisher of Viking Penguin, said, “It has been an honor to be John le Carré’s […]