Publishers Lunch

Today's Meal People, Etc.: Atria Closes Nashville Office of Howard Books Atria president and publisher Judith Curr announced on Friday that the company is closing the Nashville, TN office of Howard Books. A number of staff members are leaving as a result, including vp and publisher Jonathan Merkh. Other recent departures from Howard included vp and director of publicity and marketing Jennifer Smith and editor Lisa Stilwell. Howard's publishing office, marketing and publicity support will come from Simon & Schuster's New York office, though senior editor Philis Boultinghouse remains in Nashville, continuing to work with New York-based Beth Adams, with both reporting to Atria editor-in-chief Peter Borland. A dedicated Howard publicist and editorial assistant will be hired in New York. Kaushik Viswanath has been promoted to associate editor at Portfolio/Sentinel. The latest Guggenheim Fellows were named, including eight nonfiction writers, 11 poets, biographer Holly Brubach, and nine fiction writers: Brian Evenson, Michelle Huneven, Samantha Hunt, Philip Klay, Fiona Maazel, Alexander Maksik, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Ron Rash, and Marisa Silver. On Friday, Pamela Paul and Radhika Jones announced the hiring of Concepcion de Leon as a digital writer on books for the NYT, joining on April 24. She was at Glamour magazine and then worked as a freelance writer. She will work on "new digital features closely tied to the news, and will be writing on a myriad of books-related subjects in conjunction with other desks at The Times about what we're reading, what others should be reading, and what books are grabbing the public's attention." Julian Lucas will be a contributing writer for the Books desk, writing about books and "the way books intersect with issues of race, identity, digital culture and the news."