People 9/29 - Publishers Lunch

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster has raised its entry-level salary to $60,000, effective January 1, 2027. The publisher told PL, “Other employees across levels will receive additional salary adjustments as part of this update.” The base level salary was previously $50,000 — for a 40-hour work week.

The increase makes S&S the big five publisher with the highest base pay rate. In June, PRH raised its base-level to $55,000 and Harper Collins raised its base level to $52,500 in March after union negotiations (for a 35-hour work week, with up to three hours of overtime per week without prior approval, providing $57,000 for a continuous 38-hour week). Base pay at Hachette Book Group and Macmillan is $50,000.

Random House Children's

Abby Sturgill has joined as associate manager, advertising. Most recently she was a senior associate at Dentsu.

Simon & Schuster

Katie Painter has joined as director of marketing and publicity, promoting their list of Christian and spiritual titles. She formerly worked at Zondervan.

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial

Yolanda Chavarría has joined as literary director of PRHGE Origen. Chavarría was most recently at Harper Christian Publishing.

Sourcebooks

Alyssa Boyce has joined as quality assurance lead.

Omar Carrillo has joined as technical support specialist 1.

Allison Lewis has been promoted to digital marketing manager.

Christina Noriega has been promoted to senior director of sales, special markets and gift.

Tracy Bozentka has been promoted to senior national account manager.

International Literary Properties

International Literary Properties announced a partnership with the estate of novelist, playwright, essayist, and Hemingway biographer A. E. Hotchner, with a focus on reissuing his literary work and furthering adaptations across film, TV, and stage.

Writers House

Sasha Landauer has been promoted to agent.

Storm Literary Agency

Jenna Satterthwaite has been promoted to senior literary agent.

BISG and BookNet Canada

The Book Industry Study Group and BookNet Canada released its second annual study of AI use in publishing, AI Use Across the North American Book Industry 2026, finding that AI use is particularly rising in organizational and workflow areas.

The study garnered 771 responses, with 63% of respondents saying their company is using AI on the organizational level, up from 48% in 2025. The study notes, “The most common organizational approach is to encourage AI within controlled workflows or for specific tasks, while 49% of respondents said their organization now has an official AI policy or guidelines, up from 31% in 2025.

On the topic of AI-assisted workflow, 72% of respondents said it has increased their productivity. The leading concerns about the technology are copyright issues (86%) and the ability to trust the technology (89%).