Lia Ronnen has been named publisher and editorial director of the Workman imprint’s adult publishing program, effective May 2. In addition to running the Workman adult program, Ronnen will continue her role as publisher and editorial director of the Workman Publishing imprint Artisan, which she has held since August 2014. Ronnen will report directly to senior v-p and Workman publisher Dan Reynolds.
Since joining Workman in 2011, Ronnen has doubled the size of Artisan’s business and worked on more than 100 titles. Bestsellers she has published include Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women, Matt Hranek’s A Man and His Watch, Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons, and René Redzepi and David Zilber’s Noma Guide to Fermentation, along with work from lifestyle brands including John Derian, Kinfolk, Remodelista, and Terrain. Prior to joining Artisan, Ronnen worked at Melcher Media, Abrams, and Hyperion Books for Children.
“After my first interview with Peter Workman, I knew that I had found a home that would nurture innovative ways of bookmaking,” Ronnen said in a statement. “I’m so grateful to Dan Reynolds for this chance to expand my role in a company I have admired my entire career and to now work alongside the talented Workman editorial team that Suzie Bolotin has led so beautifully.”
“Workman has had only two publishers in its 54-year history—Peter Workman and Suzie Bolotin, who is retiring this spring. Those are big shoes to fill,” Reynolds said in a statement. “But after much searching, I realized that the best candidate for the job was literally around the corner from my office. Lia has the Workman DNA of making magic with homegrown ideas and publishing books that the marketplace wants."
