Penguin Random House Canada is promoting several executives internally and bringing in at least one new person to fill the gap in leadership following the death of legendary M&S publisher Ellen Seligman this past March.
Arts editor of the Globe and Mail newspaper Jared Bland will take on the title of publisher McClelland & Stewart and v-p, Penguin Random House Canada. Martha Kanya-Forstner was simultaneously announced as the new editor-in-chief of McClelland & Stewart and Doubleday Canada and v-p, Penguin Random House Canada, and will continue to report to Kristin Cochrane. Doug Pepper, publisher of M&S’s nonfiction imprint Signal, as well as Jordan Ginsberg, editor-in-chief of Hazlitt, a PRHC-sponsored online literary magazine, and PRHC’s senior editor of digital publishing, will all report up to Bland. Unlike Seligman, who was responsible for fiction and poetry, Bland's new role consolidates editorial leadership for both the fiction and nonfiction lines.
Bland comes to the company with plenty of book industry experience, having previously worked as an editor with independent publisher House of Anansi Press and as managing editor of The Walrus, a literary news magazine.
Brad Martin, president and CEO, Penguin Random House Canada, said the new appointments show PRHC's commitment to M&S. “I believe that Jared Bland brings a rare broad range of talent, passion, and experience to his new position as publisher of M&S that will ensure its bright future. . .Even with our robust commitment to M&S’s publishing program over the years, questions have continued to be asked about its future. Today’s appointments of Jared Bland as publisher and Martha Kanya-Forstner as editor-in chief should silence those questions.”
In addition. Amy Black has been promoted to publisher of Doubleday Canada, where she has served as associate publisher since 2014 — taking over the responsibility from Kristin Cochrane, who continues to serve as president and publisher, PRHC.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Kanya-Forstner will report to Bland. We regret the error.
