Bethany Buck, a veteran of the children’s publishing industry, will join Skyhorse Publishing as editorial director of its children’s imprint on March 21. Mark Gompertz, group editorial director of Skyhorse, said in a release, “I had the good fortune of being a colleague of Bethany’s at S&S and always admired her abilities and her list of bestselling authors. Skyhorse's passion for bringing great books to consumers and entrepreneurial spirit will be a wonderful environment in which Bethany will shine.”
Buck began her career in the trade division of Scholastic, where she edited the Baby-Sitters Club. In 2003 she moved to Simon and Schuster where she was ultimately v-p and publisher of the Aladdin and Simon Pulse imprints, working on the Dork Diaries series, as well as editing bestselling author Scott Westerfeld. Buck left S&S in 2014 and joined Sanford J. Greenburger Associates as a literary agent last January.
Buck joins Sky Pony Press at a time of significant growth. Started in 2011, the press currently has 350 books on its backlist, and this year Sky Pony aims to publish between 100–150 titles. The children’s list ranges from from picture books to middle grade and young adult. Recently, Sky Pony has had much success with books for Minecraft enthusiasts, with sales totaling 1.9 million copies and 14 titles planned for publication this year.
Buck said in a release: “I could not be more thrilled to be joining a house with such a dynamic team, and smart, innovative publishing. I look forward to creating more books for this already stellar list.”
