People 5/16

Haruki Murakami will receive the NYC Center For Fiction’s 2025 Lifetime of Excellence in Fiction Award, to be presented by Patti Smith at the Center’s annual awards benefit on Tuesday, December 9.

Several people who were previously at Disney Publishing have been hired as part of an expanded publishing program between Random House Children’s and Disney, after the announcement of a renewal of PRH’s licensing deal for multiple Disney franchises. The announcement was oblique about which programs were longstanding renewals and which were new programs for Random House Children’s, though it did mention National Geographic Kids. In late February, it was reported anonymously on social media that Disney had eliminated jobs in advance of transferring some programs to Random House Children’s. Disney did not respond to our inquiries about staff cuts, either in February or now.

Brittany (Britt) Rubiano has joined as executive editor, Delacorte Press.

On the National Geographic Kids team:

Lisa Bosley has joined as director, marketing, licensed and proprietary brands.

Vivian Suchman has joined as editorial director.

Katie Moore has joined as executive editor.

Emily Fego has joined as associate editor.

Eva Absher-Schantz has joined as executive director, art & design.

Lori Epstein has joined as senior director, photography.

Kathryn Robbins has joined as senior designer.

Lauren Sciortino has joined as production design associate.

Sarah Thegeby is promoted to senior publicity manager.

Lauren Morrow is promoted to publicity manager.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation will take on responsibility for administering the $10,000 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, beginning with the 2026 prize. The award was previously administered by PEN America.