Crown Diversifies Digital Oversight; Patrick Steps Down

After deciding to give oversight of digital product development to individual publishers, Crown Publishing Group announced that Philip Patrick is stepping down from his dual role as v-p of digital and marketing strategy and publisher of Crown digital group.

Comings and Goings: December 9, 2010

If you've been laid off recently, or left your job, 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.

Paul Bjornsen, former research manager at Langenscheidt Publishing Group, American Map Corporation & ADC The Map People, can now be reached at bjornsenhome@gmail.com.

Ayrey Named Executive Director of MPiBA

Meghan Goel, president of the board of the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association and the children's book buyer at Bookpeople in Austin, Texas, announced Wednesday that the organization has hired Laura Ayrey, 33, to be their new executive director. She is replacing Lisa Knudsen who is retiring after 23 years at the helm. Ayrey has been with publisher Gibbs Smith.

Job Moves: December 8, 2010

Sarah Hochman has been named senior editor at David Rosenthal's yet-to-be-named new imprint at Penguin. Hochman, who was most recently a senior editor at Simon & Schuster, will be joining Rosenthal on January 10. Hochman has acquired such titles as I.O.U. by John Lanchester and Savages by Don Winslow, both New York Times bestsellers. Prior to her time at S&S, Hochman worked at W magazine, The New York Observer, and Esquire.

Announcing the Relaunched PW JobZone

Today PW unveils the relaunched PW JobZone, the leading job listings site for members of the publishing community to post and apply for employment opportunities. Our readership is your talent pool. Located at www.publishersweekly.com/jobzone, PW JobZone is a self-serve job posting site, where prospective employers can post job listings for 30 days for $250. Anyone can view active job listings. Opportunities are also available to post job listings from JobZone in PW Daily for an additional fee.

Job Moves: December 7, 2010

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management agent Jim McCarthy has been promoted to v-p at the agency. McCarthy, who started at DGLM as a part-time assistant in 1999 and joined the agency full-time in 2002, has a wide client base that includes bestselling authors such as Richelle Mead and Carrie Ryan.

Notables of 2010

Here are six other major influencers of 2010.

Len Riggio: PW's Person of the Year

By any standard, the past 15 months have been eventful for Barnes & Noble. In September 2009, the company completed its purchase of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers and two months later introduced the Nook, its entry into the e-reader wars. This spring, B&N appointed William Lynch as CEO and announced a $140 million investment to upgrade its digital capabilities.

Comings and Goings: December 3, 2010

If you've been laid off recently, or left your job, 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.

Latoya West, formerly of the Jamaica-based Ian Randle Publishers, can now be reached at lawpelican@gmail.com.

Riggio is 'PW' Person of the Year

Len Riggio has been involved in bookselling for more than 45 years, but none of those years has been more eventful than 2010 when, as chairman of Barnes & Noble, he led the country's largest bookseller full bore into the digital and e-commerce worlds. For his accomplishments in 2010, Riggio is PW's Person of the Year.

Comings and Goings: December 2, 2010

If you've been laid off recently, or left your job, 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.

Oriana Leckert, former assistant editor at Stonesong Press, is now a fulltime editorial freelancer and can be reached at oriana.leckert@gmail.com.

Job Moves: December 2, 2010

Courtney Young has been promoted to senior editor for Portfolio, Sentinel, and Current. Young had a solid 2010, having edited four New York Times bestsellers: Linchpin by Seth Godin, Bury My Heart At Conference Room B by Stan Slap, Win Forever by Pete Carroll, and most recently All the Devils Are Here by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera.

Job Moves: December 1, 2010

Disney Publishing Worldwide has named Emily Meehan executive editor for Disney-Hyperion Books. Meehan will acquire and edit young adult novels as well as middle grade and picture books for the Disney-Hyperion list.


Laura Mazer has been named executive editor for Soft Skull Press. Mazer will also continue in her current role as managing editor for all the Counterpoint imprints.

Eisemann Named Head of Holt's Publicity Team

Filling the position Nicole Dewey left vacant last month after decamping for Little, Brown, Henry Holt has hired Patricia Eisemann as director of publicity.

Job Moves: November 30, 2010

Orbit, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Little, Brown, has appointed Anne Clarke as its new UK editorial director following the departure of Darren Nash. Clarke is currently a commissioning editor at Hodder & Stoughton, where she has been in the fiction editorial department for six years.

Job Moves: November 29, 2010

Ruta Drummond, former children's book buyer for Borders Group, Inc., has joined Tiger Tales as associate publisher. Drummond will work with the Tiger Tales team to further develop the company's publishing program. Drummond was at Borders for more than 25 years.

Comings and Goings: November 29, 2010

If you've been laid off recently, or left your job, 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.

Pamela F. Turner, former content acquisition and eBook pubishing relationships manager at Skiff, LLC, can now be reached at pturnertaylor@gmail.com.

Comings and Goings: November 24, 2010

If you've been laid off recently, or left your job, 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.

Victoria Meyer, former executive director of publicity at Simon & Schuster, can be reached at vmeyer@nyc.rr.com.

Job Moves: November 24, 2010

HarperCollins has hired Shane Norman as director of interactive marketing. Norman will report to evp, chief digital officer Charlie Redmayne and will develop and coordinate an integrated digital consumer marketing strategy for the house's high-profile authors and titles.

HarperOne Hires Two Publicity Directors

HarperOne has hired two directors for its publicity department. There had been no director previously. Darcy Cohan and Melinda Mullen will report to Claudia Boutote and begin December 6.