Habash Joins 'PW'

Gabe Habash has joined Publishers Weekly as an editor in the News department where he will work on PW Daily and contribute to the print edition of the magazine as well as the Web site. Habash recently graduated from NYU with a MFA in creative writing. While at NYU he was the editor-in-chief, fiction, for school's literary magazine, Washington Square Review. Among his reponsibilities at PW will be to oversee the Job Moves, Authors on the Air and This Week in Apps features and items for those sections can be e-mailed directly to Habash at ghabash@publishersweekly.com.

Comings and Goings: June 13, 2011

If you've been laid off recently, left your job or landed a new position and would like to pass along your contact information to others in the business, send details to pwletters@publishersweekly.com. Please include your full name and former title/company.

Sandy McCormick Hill, former rights director at Reader's Digest, can now be reached at smchill@gmail.com.

Promotions, Additions at 'PW'

Publishers Weekly moved into its new New York offices a little over a year ago, and as our space undergoes a renovation, it's time for a brief update on how the PW franchise is being rebuilt. We've invested heavily in digital and social media initiatives (with more than 160,000 Twitter followers, for example); to manage more expansion, Craig Teicher has been promoted from Web editor to director of digital operations, a new position.

Job Moves: June 10,

Random House sales operations senior executive Skip Dye, has added the title of v-p, Library, Academic, and Random House Publisher Services Adult Sales. Under Dye, the RH Adult Library and Academic marketing team will join together with the Books on Tape sales staff to sell and market to the library community.

Obituary: Leonard Stern, 88

Leonard Stern, one of the founders of Price/Stern/Sloan, died June 7 at Cedars Sinai Hospital after a year long illness. He was 88. With a long background in television, Stern was involved with some of TV’s best known shows including The Jackie Gleason Show and Get Smart. In 1953 Stern, along with Roger Price created Mad Libs, and later they were joined by publicist and friend Larry Sloan and the trio launched Price/Stern/Sloan in 1963, a publisher best known for its humor titles.

Job Moves: June 8, 2011

At Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial group, Alvina Ling and Julie Scheina have both been promoted. Ling, who was executive editor, has been named fiction editorial director. Her titles include Edgar Award winner The Postcard and Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Scheina, who was associate editor, is now editor. She joined LBYR in 2006 and one of her first acquisitions was Beautiful Creatures.

Obituaries: Jerusalem Book Fair's Zev Birger; RH's Harriette Dorsen

Zev Birger, longtime head of the Jerusalem International Book Fair, and Harriette Dorsen, general counsel for Bantam Doubleday Dell and then Random House, have both died.

Comings and Goings: June 6, 2011

If you've been laid off recently, left your job or landed a new position and would like to pass along your contact information to others in the business, send details to pwletters@publishersweekly.com. Please include your full name and former title/company.

Lisa Levinson, former director of sales and marketing for Time Out Guides, can now be reached at lisa.levinson24@gmail.com.

Job Moves: June 3, 2011

Random House has promoted Milena Alberti, formerly v-p, mergers and acquisitions, to v-p of corporate development and strategy, a position encompassing both external and internal growth opportunities and business reach. Ranjana Wingender has been named v-p of business development for the Crown Publishing Group. Wingender had been director, corporate development, Random House, Inc.

Comings and Goings: June 3, 2011

Catherine Frank, former executive editor at Viking Children's Books, has opened her own freelance children's editorial business, Catherine Frank Editorial Services, LLC. She can be reached at catherine@editedbycatherine.com.

Dolan Gets Imprint at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Eamon Dolan, who had seen his role at Penguin Press scaled back earlier this spring with the appointment of Scott Moyers as publisher, is returning to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt where he will head Eamon Dolan Books. The imprint will do about 10 books annually devoted to narrative and serious nonfiction titles.

Job Moves: May 31, 2011

Steve Koepp, former deputy managing editor of Time and executive editor of Fortune, has been named editorial director at Time Home Entertainment Inc. Koepp was most recently interim editor of Newsweek. THEI is the comapny's multiplatform book publishing division and, among other brands, handles the Life publishing business.

Check It Out! with Nancy Pearl: The Library Budget Crisis

We're delighted to offer a new monthly column, where librarians, publishers, and other stakeholders in the health of our reading culture can have their voices heard. We expect the conversation will open everyone's eyes to the array of services offered by libraries and the issues they face. Who better to host and direct that conversation than Nancy Pearl?

Pfund Named President of Oxford University Press USA

Niko Pfund, acting president of Oxford University Press USA since December 2010, has been named president of OUP USA. Pfund will continue as academic publisher of OUP USA.

Grann to Retire

Phyllis Grann will end more than 40 years in the publishing business June 9 when she retires from her role as senior editor at the Doubleday division of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Grann joined Doubleday in 2002 after stepping down as the CEO of Penguin Putnam in 2001.

Comings and Goings: May 20, 2011

If you've been laid off recently, left your job or landed a new position and would like to pass along your contact information to others in the business, send details to pwletters@publishersweekly.com. Please include your full name and former title/company.

Ron Maas, former v-p of operations at Libraries Unlimited and ABC-CLIO, can now be reached at ronmaas99@gmail.com.

Comings and Goings: May 19, 2011

If you've been laid off recently, left your job or landed a new position and would like to pass along your contact information to others in the business, send details to pwletters@publishersweekly.com. Please include your full name and former title/company.

Carolyn Schwartz, former v-p and director of advertising and promotion for Random House Publishing Group, can now be reached at CarolynWillisSchwartz@gmail.com.

Job Moves: May 19, 2011

Emily Santos has been named v-p of gift market sales at Penguin. Santos, who started hew own consulting company after becoming v-p of global sales in Simon & Schuster's new video group, will report to Barbara O’Shea, president of non-trade sales and special markets.

Lubeck Resigns from BISG, Will Join Bert Davis

Book Industry Study Group executive director Scott Lubeck has resigned his position and will return to his home in Austin, Tex. where he will work for Bert Davis & Associates in a couple of new roles. BISG deputy executive director Angela Bole will carry out the executive director’s duties on an interim basis and a search committee has been formed to identify candidates for the position.