Six weeks after being named to lead the combined Random House and Crown Publishing groups by Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh, Gina Centrello has released the operating structure of the united group, which will be known as Random House.
According to a memo from Centrello, the structure, editorial direction, and imprint teams of the Random House publishing programs are unchanged. Crown will continue to be comprised of three distinct imprint groups: Crown Trade; illustrated and prescriptive nonfiction; and Christian, business, and conservative book publishing.
Going forward, the Crown trade and the illustrated and prescriptive nonfiction imprints will be co-led by David Drake and Aaron Wehner, and Tina Constable will continue to lead Christian, business, and conservative publishing.
In recognition of his new roles, Drake has been promoted to executive v-p, Crown Publishing, and publisher of Crown, responsible for Crown, Crown Archetype, Hogarth, Tim Duggan Books, Three Rivers Press, and Broadway Books. He will additionally take an active role in helping to direct the acquisition and publishing strategy for the imprints under Wehner, who has been promoted to executive v-p, Crown Publishing, and publisher of Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press, Harmony, and Rodale Books. In addition, Centrello wrote, Wehner will take on shared responsibilities in the Crown trade areas, “bringing his strong aesthetic orientation and wide-ranging editorial interests in support of David’s imprints.”
Centrello noted that each of the imprints Drake and Wehner oversee “will continue to publish independently, as they individually and collectively benefit from the ongoing supportive collaboration and shared oversight the two of them have long enjoyed. The synergies from their shared leadership and responsibilities—including acquisition strategy, production aesthetics, and marketing vision—will help grow their lists and our overall business.”
In continuing to oversee Crown’s Christian, conservative, and business divisions, Constable has been named executive v-p and publisher of WaterBrook, Multnomah, Image, Convergent, Currency, and Forum.
Drake, Wehner, and Constable will all report to Centrello.
Centrello has also hired Gillian Blake as senior v-p and editor-in-chief of Crown Trade. She will start on January 22, 2019, reporting to Drake. Blake has most recently served as editor-in-chief at Henry Holt.
A casualty of the changes is Molly Stern. The senior v-p and publisher of Crown will be leaving the company, Centrello announced.
Other Crown promotions include: Annsley Rosner to senior v-p and deputy publisher of Crown Trade; Jill Flaxman named senior v-p and deputy publisher for Crown’s New York–based, four-color-illustrated and lifestyle imprints Clarkson Potter, Harmony, and Rodale Books, and California-based Ten Speed Press; and Campbell Wharton, to v-p and deputy publisher of WaterBrook, Multnomah, Image, Convergent, Currency, and Forum.
Centrello closed her memo by noting that additional news about her plans for these imprint groups, as well as appointments to support them, will be announced in the New Year.
