In two memos to staff, Atria senior v-p and publisher Libby McGuire announced the hiring of Kristin Fassler in the newly-created role of v-p and director of integrated marketing and the laying off of Paul Olsewski, v-p and director of publicity.
The move combines a number of functions under Fassler following the hiring of McGuire in April to replace Judith Curr, who left Atria in January. Fassler, who comes to Atria from Ballantine Bantam Dell, where she was v-p and director of marketing, will oversee a merged publicity and marketing department, "in order to better coordinate and focus the overall outreach and marketing on behalf of our authors," McGuire wrote. She added that the combining of the departments reflects how "book publicity and marketing have changed in recent years, as the tried and true levers that drive book sales, such as media and author events, have been supplemented by methods such as social media influencers, podcasts, and newsletters." Fassler starts August 1.
Olsewski, who has been with Atria since 2010, will leave the company on July 27. McGuire wrote that, "as a result of our plans to reorganize our publicity and marketing departments under a single director, we are unable to maintain the role of Director of Publicity within this new structure."
Dana Trocker will join Atria as director of marketing from the Simon & Schuster trade imprint, and will report to Fassler. Also reporting to Fassler are: deputy directors of publicity David Brown and Lisa Sciambra; associate director of publicity Yona Deshommes; and assistant director of publicity Ariele Fredman.
