EGMONT USA NAMES PUBLISHER
Tuesday 27 November 2007
Egmont USA Names Publisher and Announces Random House As Distribution Partner.
Douglas Pocock, Executive Vice President of Egmont USA Inc., announced today that Elizabeth Law, former Vice President and Associate Publisher of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, has been named Vice President and Publisher of Egmont USA.
Mr. Pocock also confirmed that Random House will handle U.S. sales and distribution.
"We are hugely ambitious for our business in the USA and we have taken a lot of time to make these two critical appointments," said Mr. Pocock. "I am truly excited that Elizabeth Law will be joining Egmont. She comes to us with a wealth of experience publishing top authors and handling some of the best-loved properties in the industry. Like Egmont, Elizabeth is committed to turning children into passionate readers."
While at Simon and Schuster, Ms. Law published Andrew Clements’ bestselling novels; worked with Hilary Knight and the estate of Kay Thompson on the Eloise series, edited the bestselling collection Thanks and Giving All Year Long by Marlo Thomas and Friends; and oversaw the publication of the internationally bestselling Spiderwick series. She has also served as Associate Publisher Viking Children’s Books and Frederick Warne. At Viking Ms. Law worked with the estates of Don Freeman and Ludwig Bemelmans, and at Frederick Warne she oversaw both the launch of the Peter Rabbit Seedlings line and the centenary celebration of the publication of Peter Rabbit.
"I am thrilled with the extraordinary opportunity of starting a new list of children’s books in the U.S.," Ms. Law said. "I have always been impressed with Egmont’s philosophy of editorial excellence and author care-- it says everything I believe about the best way to publish books for children. At Egmont, we will have the chance to launch and develop both new and established talent, and to make sure our authors and artists have a voice in the way they are published."
In announcing Egmont USA’s sales and distribution plan, Pocock said, "We were determined to have a top-tier sales and distribution partner behind our new venture and Random House was definitely our first choice. With Random House we have a mighty distribution machine behind us and the expertise of one of the most professional and accomplished children’s sales teams I have come across."
Jeff Abraham, President of Random House Publishing Services said, "We are enormously pleased to welcome Egmont to the family of RHPS clients. We have great respect for their publishing list and for their ambitions for it in the U.S., and we look forward to vigorously supporting their launch and to a long and prosperous partnership."
Egmont USA www.egmont-us.com will be based in New York. Its launch list of quality young adult and middle grade fiction and picture books will be published in 2009. Egmont's list will be sold across all key market sectors with a focus on trade, school and library markets.
Egmont UK Ltd is one of the largest children's book publishers in the UK. Its diverse list includes books for children of all ages and features popular licensed characters such as Winnie-the-Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine, as well as an impressive picture book and award-winning fiction list by renowned authors and illustrators.
Books and magazines form the core part of Egmont’s business in the UK, with sales of approximately 16 million books and 11.5 million magazines. Egmont UK is part of the Egmont Group, one of Scandinavia’s leading media groups with activities including film, TV production and interactive games. Egmont has activities in 23 countries, and 3,800 employees reaching revenues of EUR 1.24 billions in 2006.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Egmont Contact Doug Pocock Regina Griffin |
UK Contact Liz Sich and Hannah Blake at Colman Getty |
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