Republished January 13, 2015 - 8:13 AM
Original Publication Date January 13, 2015 - 7:40 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The country's largest publisher is getting a realignment.
The Penguin side of Penguin Random House announced a wave of promotions and restructuring Tuesday, and a couple of departures. The changes include placing the Putnam and Dutton imprints under the leadership of Ivan Held, previously head of Putnam, and a new president and publisher of Viking, where after nine years Clare Ferraro is being replaced by Brian Tart. Ferraro and Lauren Marino, vice-president and editorial director of the Gotham imprint, will be leaving.
"These changes draw upon our existing strengths, as well as the experience of many of our longstanding colleagues, and will position us well for future growth," Penguin President Madeline McIntosh wrote in a company memo Tuesday.
Authors at Penguin range from young adult novelist John Green to historian Ron Chernow.
Corporate spokesman Stuart Applebaum said there were would be no additional comment beyond McIntosh's memo. He said no layoffs were planned other than those announced Tuesday and that there were no plans for realignment at Random House.
Penguin and Random House merged in 2013, forming a powerhouse believed to comprise around 40 per cent of the U.S. book market. In his year-end letter for 2014, Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle wrote that while "2014 was a time of preparation; 2015 will be one of implementation."
News from © The Associated Press, 2015