PEOPLE
At Simon & Schuster, Jonathan Merritt joined the imprint on May 12th as VP and executive editor, specializing in faith, religion and spirituality, reporting to Priscilla Painton. He was previously a literary agent at Christopher Ferebee Agency.
At Macmillan, Nellie Kurtzman has joined Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group as executive creative director of brand marketing.
At Penguin Random House, Chelsea Abdullah, formerly assistant marketing and publicity manager at Astra Books for Young Readers, has joined DK Books/Penguin Random House as children’s marketing manager. Matt Lamberti has joined Penguin Random House as SAP developer. Sylvie Frank, previously editorial director at Disney Hyperion, has joined Flamingo Books as senior executive editor. At Putnam Books, Melanie Fried has joined as executive editor. At Random House Children’s Books, Vivian Suchman has joined as editorial director of National Geographic Kids. Katie Moore has joined as executive editor of National Geographic Kids. Emily Fego has joined as associate editor of National Geographic Kids. Kathryn Robbins has joined Random House Children’s Books as senior designer for National Geographic Kids. At Delacorte Press, Britt Rubiano has joined as executive editor. Lisa Bosley has joined as director of marketing, licensed, and proprietary brands for National Geographic Kids. Eva Absher-Schantz has joined as executive director of art and design at National Geographic Kids. Angela Graven will lead the newly formed digital and regional print production team at Penguin Random House. Senior production manager, digital reprints Bernice McManus; production manager, digital print Amanda Crawford; and production manager, correctives Avi Bonime will report to Graven. Maddie Caldwell joined as executive editor of Random House, she was previously at Grand Central.
At Abrams, Julia Primavera has joined as production director. Rebecca Reisert has joined as senior production manager. Yenilet Rodriguez has joined as production associate.
At HarperCollins, Alli Grote Picard has joined Focus as senior editor.
At Bloomsbury, Evan Hansen-Bundy has joined as editor. He was previously associate editor at Algonquin Books.
At Ingram Content Group, Dr. Rajen Bhatt joined earlier this year as the new role of director of AI.
At Ploughshares Jenny Molberg was named editor-in-chief.
At Ignition Press, Scott Newman has joined as art director. Joe Campagna has joined as print manager.
At Fortress, Kathleen Gallagher Elkins has joined as acquisitions editor.
At Magnetic Press James Lowder has been named as its consulting editor.
At Commons Notions Press, Jeff Waxman, formerly a sales rep and a marketing consultant for independent publishers, has been named sales and marketing director. Emily Miller has joined as publicity director.
At Yarros Ink, Lizzy Mason, formerly publicity director at Entangled Publishing has joined as managing director.
At Candlewick Press, Holiday House, Peachtree Publishing, Nina Serafini has joined as sales assistant for Barnes & Noble, indie bookstores, Ingram, and Books A Million.
At Mad Cave, Charles Beacham has joined as editor.
At Wise Acre Comics Anthony Zicari has joined as editor-in- chief.
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In Agency News…
At Frances Goldin Literary Agency, Lucy Cleland has joined as VP and senior agent.
At Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, Gracie Freeman Lifschutz has been promoted to subsidiary rights associate and literary agent.
At Rights Factory, Matt Belford, formerly literary agent at New Leaf, as literary agent.
At Future of Agency, Sara Mehelic is promoted to marketing assistant. Genessee Floressantos has joined as a publicity specialist. Kelly Dasta has joined as marketing specialist. Naureen Nashid has joined as marketing specialist.
At Howland Literary, Ashlee MacCallum has joined as a junior agent.
At Lucinda Literary, Michael Kaler has joined as editorial coordinator. Previously he was an associate editor at Basic Books.
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PROMOTIONS
At Penguin Random House, Kate Renner has been promoted to senior art director at Viking, Philomel, and Flamingo. Kristen Pozzouli has been promoted to director of school and library marketing at DK Books/Penguin Random House. At Putnam Books Katie McKee was promoted to deputy director of publicity and Tarini Sipahimalani was promoted to associate editor. Lauren Morrow has been promoted to publicity manager. Sarah Thegeby has been promoted to senior publicity manager. Andy Craven has been promoted to senior director, reprint production, now heading adult and children’s book production. Associate director Sandra Bretnall will report to Craven.
At Hachette, Jen Graham has been promoted to senior managing editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
At Macmillan, Angela Tabor has been promoted to associate publicist at St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
At Candlewick Press, Holiday House, and Peachtree, Elyse Vincenty and Allison Tarnofsky were promoted to senior marketing manager of trade.
At Soho Press, Lilly DeTaeye has been promoted to publicist.
At Watkins Media, Caroline Lambe has been promoted to head of marketing and publicity for adult trade.
At Zando, Julia McGarry has been promoted to senior publicist.
At Storehouse Voices, Isabela Alcantara has been promoted to publishing associate.
At Mad Cave Studios, Kristen Simon has been promoted executive editor at Nakama Press.
At Grove Atlantic, Jenny Choi has been promoted to associate publicist.
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DULY NOTED
Reported first by AP, President Trump has appointed, Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney and now Deputy Attorney General as acting Librarian of Congress. Paul Perkins, an associate deputy attorney general, is acting register of copyrights and director of the Copyright Office. Brian Nieves, a deputy chief of staff and senior counsel in Blanche’s office, was made acting assistant librarian of the Library of Congress.
The NYU Advanced Publishing Institute is now open for registration with a special early-bird rate. Designed for mid- to senior-level book publishing professionals, the program will take place in-person on New York University’s Greenwich Village campus, from January 5 through January 9, 2026. The full day executive education sessions will feature lectures, case studies, and workshops led by top publishing and media professionals, with an emphasis on management, leadership strategies, and consumer connections. The team at the NYU Center for Publishing,Writing, and Media, hosts of NYU API, are lining up an exciting roster of industry thought leaders. You can view highlights of API 2025 HERE. For questions, please reach out to nyu.api@nyu.edu.
Center for Fiction have filed for a union election with the RWDSU, according to a post from their social media, they “are forming a union to ensure that our voices are heard when decisions are made that impact us, and to ensure that we are compensated adequately as employees who live in one of the most expensive cities in the world.” Employees as of Friday, May 16th are awaiting for management to respond.
A reminder that the celebration of Mike Shatzkin’s life will convene on Thursday, May 22, from 5PM to 8pm, at The Prince George Ballroom. If planning to attend please rsvp to marthamoran@gmail.com.
Art dealer Larry Gagosian purchased Bookhampton from Carolyn Brody.
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EVENTS
May 20: 2025 International Booker Prize
May 22–June 1 Hey Festivals Wales in Hereford, UK
May 25–28 Tbilisi International Book Fair in Tbilisi, GE
May 28–June 1 Istanbul International Literature Festival in Istanbul, TR
June 3 US Book Show in New York, NY
Every week, we recommend 5 publishing articles/blog posts that supplement the major news for the week. Whether data or industry commentary, we hope these 5 links will be a simple way to keep you in the know.
