People: Hayes to Retire from Harlequin, and More

 Publishers Lunch

Harlequin ceo and publisher Donna Hayes "has decided to retire" at the end of the year, with current Harlequin North America coo Craig Swinwood set to become the new publisher and ceo on January 1 "as part of the succession planning process." Parent company Torstar president and ceo David Holland says in the announcement: "Donna Hayes has served Harlequin and Torstar with great distinction for the past 28 years. She has led Harlequin from being a series romance publisher to becoming a broad-based publisher of women's fiction and has demonstrated invaluable foresight in positioning Harlequin for a more digital future." 

As for Swinwood, who has been at Harlequin for 26 years, Holland notes, "During his career at Harlequin, he has played a key role in the growth of the single title business, the development of the Harlequin non-fiction and teen strategies and has been a driving force in the transition from print to digital publishing in North America."

Following their acquisition of business lines from Bowker earlier in the year, Nielsen Book has reorganized the business into two regional groups for the Americas and International, with both groups supported by global functions for product leadership, research and analytics, and marketing.

In the US, Jonathan Stolper has been promoted to svp, client service for Nielsen Book Americas, leading all the client facing teams in the US.

In the UK, Ann Betts moves up to managing director, client service for Nielsen Book International. All  of the UK, Italy, and India‐based sales teams will now report to her.

Jon Windus has been promoted to head of product leadership for Nielsen Book, the group that has "responsibility for ensuring that our products, services, and systems meet and exceed the needs of our clients." All three report to Nielsen Book president Jonathan Nowell, who indicates 

"further announcements and appointments will be made in due course.

Marion Garner has been promoted to the newly creation position of vp, deputy publisher for Random House Canada. She'll continue to report to president Kristin Cochrane, and "will work closely with [her] to assist in the effective and smooth running of Random House of Canada's Canadian publishing programme across its imprints."

At Penguin, Dan Sanicola has been promoted to executive director of digital assets.

At Henry Holt, Sarah Bowlin has been promoted to senior editor.

Sophia Muthuraj has joined Running Press as editor. Previously she was an associate editor at Gotham/Avery.

The Mystery Writers of America have named Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart as their newest Grand Masters. Aunt Agatha's bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI is the winner of their Raven Award, recognizing a beloved store. "The owners, Robin and Jamie Agnew are champions of both established and new authors, making the store a must-stop destination for author tours in the Midwest."

In the UK, Profile Books will use ePubDirect for global ebook distribution.