People 10/9

Gayley Avery is promoted to senior vice president, DK North America, charged with “unifying focus, ambition, and vision, and inspiring the team to continue growing.”

Mike Sanders, senior vice president and publisher of the DK Alpha imprint, will now become part of DK Living.

Tim Paulson joins as executive vice president and publisher. Most recently, he was director of the University of Kansas Press.

The company has created a retail sales group, led by Nicky Devaney, promoted to vice president, retail sales. Devaney will oversee the Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Independent Sales teams. They write: “This new group reflects our growth mindset: the belief that with curiosity, collaboration, and focus, we can unlock new opportunities for our authors, our accounts, and our readers.”

Mackenzie Bronk has been promoted to director of sales, BN/BAM, reporting to Devaney.

Derek Meehan has been promoted to the newly created position of director, field strategy & operations, reporting to Devaney.

Chrissy Heleine, who returns from maternity leave, will continue to oversee the Retail Strategy team, and continues to report to Lauren Monaco.

Ivy Givens will join as editor. Most recently she was an associate editor at Mariner Books.

Julia Rickard will join as publicity manager. Most recently, she was a senior publicist at Viking/Penguin.

Separately, Taylor Pisanie has joined as coordinator, account marketing at Hachette Book Group.

Laura Mucha has joined as an associate editor. She was previously an assistant editor at Norton.

Gabrielle Nugent has joined as a publicity manager. She was previously a senior publicist at Norton.