Libby McGuire has been named v-p and publisher of Simon & Schuster's Atria publishing division. With the move, McGuire, a longtime publisher who became an agent in 2017, fills a void that had been open since Judith Curr left S&S in late January.
Before joining the Gernert Company last year, McGuire was executive v-p and publisher of Penguin Random House's Ballantine Bantam Dell division. There, S&S noted in its hiring announcement, McGuire oversaw a list heavy with marquee bestsellers and bold-face names, including Lee Child, Jodi Picoult, Janet Evanovich, Emily Giffin, Ashley Judd, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Dean Koontz. At BBD, she also handled a number of major license lines, including Star Wars and ESPN Books.
Aside from established authors, under McGuire's watch, BBD broke out books like Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, Nancy Horan's Loving Frank and Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers.
President of adult publishing at S&S, Jonathan Karp, called McGuire "one of the most dynamic and successful publishers in our industry," adding that she transformed BBD "into a premiere destination for bestselling authors." McGuire will report to Karp.
McGuire, who will start at S&S on April 30, has also previously worked at S&S. She was a national accounts manager at the publisher in 2000, before she went to Random House. She has also worked at HarperCollins, in sales and marketing roles.
