People Round-Up, Mid-January 2023

PEOPLE

Dan Schwartz has been named SVP, CFO for HarperCollins, effective January 23. He was previously CFO at Macmillan.

Gina Centrello, longtime President and Publisher of the Random House Publishing Group, is retiring from her position. She will serve as a strategic advisor to the US board going forward. At Penguin Random House, Vaishali Nayak, previously Senior Marketing Manager at HarperCollins Children’s Books, joins as Assistant Director of Brand Marketing. Sara Bershtel, previously SVP, Publisher at Metropolitan Books, joins Penguin Press as Editor-at-Large. At Riverhead Books, Han Zhang, staff journalist at The New Yorker, joins in the newly-created position of Editor-at-Large, “with the mission of bringing works from the Chinese language for translation and publication in the United States.” Erika Semprun joins Dutton, Plume, and Tiny Reparations Books as Social Media Manager. Lashanda Anakwah joins Tiny Reparations Press as Editor; she was previously Associate Editor at Simon & Schuster. At Random House Children’s, Jasmine Ferrufino joins as Associate, School & Library Marketing.

At Zondervan, Paul J. Pastor joins as Senior Acquisitions Editor; he was previously Editor at WaterBrook Multnomah.

At Beacon Press, Matt Davis joins as CFO. Previously he was VP, Finance at Cengage Learning.

Caitlin Mulrooney-Lyski joins Henry Holt as VP, Executive Director of Publicity. Previously she was Director of Publicity at Ecco. At Macmillan, Amy Solov, lately Sales Representative, Special Sales at Gibbs Smith, joins as Manager, Gift Sales. Mark Kent joins as Technical Specialist.

Victor Day Hendrickson joins Simon & Schuster as VP, Counsel. Previously he was VP, Associate General Counsel at Penske Media Corporation. At Atria, Kate Napolitano, formerly Executive Editor at Dey Street, joins as Executive Editor. Holly Rice joins Atria as Publicist. |Most recently she was Publicist at HarperCollins.

At Oprah Daily, Leigh Newman has joined as Books Director, overseeing Oprah’s Book Club and all book-related content on OprahDaily.com and O Quarterly. Most recently she was Cofounder and Editor-in-Chief at Zibby Books.

At David C Cook, Cathy Herholdt joins as VP of Communications. Most recently she was Senior Communications Director at World Concern.

Joseph D’Onofrio has been named Executive Director and General Manager at Chicago Distribution Center and Client Services. He previously worked as Director, Supply Chain Operations at Henry Schein.

Dale Wilstermann joins Dexterity as Executive Sales Director. Most recently he was Executive Director, Nashville Sales at Hachette.

At Zando, Hayley Wagreich joins as Director of Original Development and will manage the launch of Zando Projects, which will manage the development of original content with company partners. She was previously Head of Content at Realm.

Kevin McLain, formerly Editorial VP at Avalon Travel, joins Timber Press as Editorial Director. At Basic Books, Janice Audet joins as Executive Editor on January 23. She was most recently Executive Editor for Science at Harvard University Press. Gwen Hawkes, lately Associate Editor at St. Martin’s Press, joins Hachette Go as Editor. And at Hachette Book Group, Radhika Parikh joins as Communications Associate; she was previously Publishing Coordinator at Disney Publishing.

At PEN America, Kate Ruane joins as the inaugural Sy Syms Director, U.S. Free Expression Programs. Previously she was Lead Public Policy Specialist for the United States at the Wikimedia Foundation.

Brent Reidy has been named Director of Research Libraries at the New York Public Library.

At Tuttle Publishing, Laura Ferguson joins as Sales and Marketing Director. She was formerly SVP, New Business Development at Open Road Integrated Media.

In agency news…Kristina Sutton Lennon, founder of Focused Artists, joins Context Literary Agency as Director of Media Rights, Translation Rights Agent, and Junior Agent. Ariele Fredman joins UTA as Agent and will work on building the commercial fiction program. Previously she was Deputy Director of Publicity and Marketing at Atria. At Nicole Banholzer PR, Cate Turner joins as Assistant Publicist. John Snyder joins PR by the Book as Assistant Publicist. At Franklin & Siegal, Dorian Randall, lately Literary Associate at Conner Literary, joins as Literary Scout.

Jack Shoemaker, Founding Editor of Counterpoint Press and Cofounder of North Point Press, is retiring and will continue to work on selected projects as Counterpoint’s editor-at-large.

Hugo Award-winning author Navah Wolfe joins DAW Books as Executive Editor.

At Crooked Lane, Marcia Markland, formerly Executive Acquisitions Editor at Thomas Dunne Books, joins as Senior Editor at Large. Stephanie Manova, formerly Foreign Rights Agent at Trident Media Group, joins as Subsidiary Rights Manager.

At Publishers Weekly, Senior Reviews Editor Peter Cannon and Senior News Editor Calvin Reid have retired.

Sigrid Rausing is stepping down as Editor at Granta, and the magazine is hiring a replacement.

Jarrod Annis joins Transit Books as Sales and Marketing Manager at Transit Books. He was formerly Manager at Greenlight Bookstore.

At Macmillan, Amy Solov, lately Sales Representative, Special Sales at Gibbs Smith, joins as Manager, Gift Sales. Mark Kent joins as Technical Specialist.

Curt Kaplan joins Chickman Associates, covering the state of Washington.

 

PROMOTIONS

Ed Spade has been appointed President of Sales at HarperCollins, succeeding Josh Marwell, who will remain in an advisory capacity until his retirement in April. Jessica Cozzi has been promoted to Associate Publicist. Emily Fisher moves up to Publicity Manager at The Morrow Group. At William Morrow, Julia Elliott is now Editor.

Sasha Sadikot has been promoted to VP of National Accounts at Penguin Random House Sales Group. At Penguin Random House, Sonia Lynaugh moves up to VP and Director of Human Resources, and Lauren Monaco becomes SVP, Sales Director, Penguin and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Groups. Anthony Dudley, VP, Imprint Sales Director, continues to be responsible for Penguin Press, Portfolio, Riverhead, Sentinel, and Viking/Penguin, and adds Knopf, Doubleday, Pantheon, Schocken, Everyman’s Library, Vintage, and Anchor. Chrissy Helaine moves up to VP, Director of National Accounts, Penguin Publishing Group and DK Adult. At Viking Children’s/Philomel, Tamar Brazis moves up to VP, Publisher, while Jill Santopolo becomes VP, Publisher of Philomel. At Penguin Random House Audio, Linda Schmidt becomes Senior Director, Managing Editorial and Production, and Tina Donnelly becomes Assistant Managing Editor. Jin Yu becomes Director of Marketing at Berkley, and Cat Barra has been promoted to Marketing Associate. Erica Stone has been promoted to Associate Manager, Library Marketing at Random House Children’s. At Dutton, Grace Layer is now Assistant Editor. Emily Harburg moves up to Assistant Editor at Labyrinth Road.

At Tokyopop, Marc Visnick has been promoted to COO and Publisher.

Jennifer Hergenroeder has been promoted to Associate Publisher at The Experiment.

Dan Berkowitz becomes Executive Director, Paid Marketing at Open Road Integrated Media.

At Scholastic, Brian LaRossa is now Executive Art Director, Katie Carella is now Editorial Director, and Andy Lopez Soberano becomes Assistant Editor. Jody Stigliano is now Senior Library and Educational Brand Marketing Manager; Sabrina Montenigro has been promoted to Educational and Library Marketing Associate. At Graphix, Megan Peace moves up to Senior Editor and Jonah Newman moves up to Associate Editor.

At Feminist Press, Lauren Rosemary Hook has been promoted to Editorial Director.

Jessica Echeverria is now Editorial Director at Lee & Low Books, while Kandace Coston moves up to Editor and Alan Turner becomes Data Solutions Manager. Niki Marion has been promoted to Educational Sales Associate.

Sarah Sisterson becomes Art Director at Sourcebooks.

In agency news…Marissa Eigenbrood has been promoted to President at Smith Publicity, and Sandra Poirier Smith is now Chief Executive Officer. Jennifer Jackson moves up to Executive Vice President at Donald Maass Literary Agency. Sarah Kelleher has been named VP at Maria B. Campbell Associates and retains her existing title of Director of Children’s Scouting. At Franklin & Siegal, Danny Yanez is promoted to VP and continues as Director of Adult Scouting. Carrie Pestritto has become Director of Business Affairs at Laura Dail Literary Agency; she will continue to manage the agency’s audio titles and agent her own list. Lara Perkins and Jennifer March Soloway both move up to Senior Agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Paige Terlip and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black move up to Agent. Samantha Weinstein is now Senior Agent at Thompson Literary Agency. At Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency, Courtney Paganelli is now Literary Agent. At McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency, Daniele Hunter has been promoted to Junior Agent.

At Lerner Publishing Group, Amber Ross moves up to Associate School and Library Product Director; Erica Johnson becomes Senior Trade Production Trafficking Manager; and Athena Currier becomes Senior Trade Designer.

At The Little Press, Rose Lepore has been promoted to Editor of the children’s publisher’s Bless This Press Christian imprint.

Jonathan Sperling is now Associate Editor on the business team at McGraw Hill.

At the University of California Press, LeKeisha Hughes has been promoted to Associate Editor for Art History and Music, while Naja Pulliam Collins moves up to Associate Editor for Environmental Studies and Geography.

At University of North Carolina Press, Helen Kyriakoudes becomes Associate Publicist.

 

DULY NOTED

Aerio, the online bookselling platform acquired by Ingram Content Group in 2015, will close as a freestanding service at the end of January. Storefront sites will shut down on January 31 and dashboard will be eliminated on April 30.

UTA has acquired literary agency Fletcher & Company. Christy Fletcher, founder and CEO, will lead the UTA Publishing division along with current head Byrd Leavell. The Fletcher team will join UTA’s New York office, and the Fletcher name will be retired.

Mayo Clinic Press is launching Mayo Clinic Press Kids, publishing for both the trade and education market, pre-K through YA. Mayo Clinic Press continues to be distributed by Ingram’s Two Rivers Distribution.

Audiobook publisher RBmedia has purchased Ukemi Audiobooks and Dharma Audiobooks. Ukemi will continue as an imprint under RBmedia’s W.F. Howes brand; Dharma will be a sub-imprint of Ukemi.

The CJK Group has acquired the assets of Allen Press.

Beginning in July, Pan Macmillan’s full list will be distributed in the US by Macmillan.

Baker & Taylor Publisher Services has added three new publishers: The Little Press, Rainbow Morning Music Press, and Gnome Road Publishing.

In scouting news…KF Literary Scouting has been appointed scout in the US and UK for Italy’s Marsilio and Sozogno Editori and in the US for Black and White Publishing, a division of Bonnier Books UK. Mary Anne Thompson Associates has been appointed scout for Italy’s Solferino and Romania’s Humanitas Group. Franklin & Siegal has been appointed US scout for Planeta in Brazil and Storyhouse Egmont in Croatia. And Edmison Harper now scouts for the Octopus imprints Brazen, Monoray, and Radar in the UK and for Spartacus in Norway, as well as scouting fiction for Beck in Germany in addition to Hanser.

The American Booksellers Association nominated new board leadership for two-year terms. Queen Anne Book Company children’s buyer Tegan Tigani is set to be elected president; 4 Kids Books & Toys owner Cynthia Compton will become VP/Secretary; and Waucoma Bookstore owner Jenny Cohen will become VP. Nominated for new election to the board are Holly Weinkauf of Red Balloon Bookshop, Lisa Swayze of Buffalo Street Books, and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo of Greenlight Bookstore.

For additional coverage of high-profile job moves, see Publishers Weekly.

 

EVENTS
January 14-22
Çukurova Book Fair
Adana, Turkey

January 19-23
Jaipur Literature Festival
Jaipur, India

January 25-29
Angoulême International Comics Festival
Angoulême, France

January 27-30
LibLearnX
New Orleans, LA

January 31-February 12
Kolkata Book Fair
Kolkata, India