Jennifer Bergstrom has be named to succeeded Louise Burke as publisher of Simon & Schuster's Gallery Book Group. Bergstrom will report directly to S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy.
“Those of us who have worked with Jen know her to be an unstoppable force,” Reidy said in a statement. “Her energy, commitment, and publishing savvy have been instrumental to Gallery’s growth and success, and now she will be applying that formidable drive and knowledge to an even larger and more varied group of imprints and authors in the Gallery Books Group. It will be fun to watch the results.”
Bergstrom, who will receive a senior v-p title in the move, was previously v-p and publisher of the group's eponymous imprint, Gallery Books. Burke is retiring from her position as president and publisher of Gallery on August 18, after 16 years with the group. She joined S&S in 2001 and in 2009 took charge of the newly-created Gallery Books Group, which combined what was then Pocket Books and Simon Spotlight Entertainment. The group now includes Karen Hunter Publishing, Jeter Publishing, North Star Way, Scout Press and Threshold Editions. Burke was also responsible for Pocket Books, Pocket Star, Star Trek, and MTV lines.
“For sixteen years Louise Burke has been an important and integral part of our success at Simon & Schuster,” Reidy said in a statement. “She has built the Gallery Books Group into a powerhouse publisher that serves an incredibly wide range of reading tastes.”
Bergstrom has been with Simon & Schuster since 1998, when she was named editorial director of the newly-launching Simon Spotlight imprint. Since, she was involved in the creation of Simon Spotlight Entertainment and the launch of Scout Press and the Gallery 13 graphic book line. She has worked with a range of authors—many celebrity authors—including Chelsea Handler, Amy Schumer, Oliver Stone, Samantha Bee, Tommy Chong, Stanley Tucci, and Lisa Genova.
“I could not be happier or more grateful for this opportunity to lead the Gallery Group,” Bergstrom said in a statement. “We are well positioned and have many strengths upon which to build an even more formidable publishing group.”
