Cheryl Klein has joined Workman Publishing as editorial director of Algonquin Young Readers. She will report to publisher Stacy Lellos.
Klein joins AYR from Lee & Low Books, where she had served as editorial director since 2017. At Lee & Low, she oversaw the publisher’s picture book editorial staff and a frontlist of 20 new children’s and YA titles per year. She also edited her own projects, including When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita; Under My Hijab by Hena Khan, illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel; and The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas.
Prior to that, she spent 17 years as editor at the Arthur A. Levine imprint of Scholastic, where her list included such titles as Front Desk by Kelly Yang; The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton; Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older; The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson; and Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. She also served as continuity editor for the last two books of the Harry Potter series.
Klein is also the author of several picture books, including Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates and A Year of Everyday Wonders.
“Ever since Algonquin Young Readers launched in 2011, I’ve admired the ambition and latitude of its publishing,” said Klein in a statement. “It’s an honor to get to work with the editors here to maintain its tradition of literary excellence as we take the list in exciting new directions.”
Elise Howard, the founding editor and publisher of Algonquin Young Readers, retired on May 1. Stacy Lellos, who had recently been named publisher of Workman Children’s, assumed the added role of AYR publisher.
