Bloomsbury USA, which cut seven jobs last month, will lose its publisher and president later this month when Karen Rinaldi steps down to join Rodale where she will be senior v-p, general manager and publishing director of Rodale Books. Rinaldi is leaving Bloomsbury March 14 and will start at Rodale April 1.
In the newly created position at Rodale, Rinaldi will oversee editorial and publishing for all of Rodale’s books; Liz Perl, publisher of Rodale Books, will report to Rinaldi as will Leigh Haber, head of the Modern Times imprint, and Nancy Hancock, v-p and executive editor. One of Rinaldi’s responsibilities will be to work with Rodale’s direct marketing arm to find ways to market Rodale’s trade books across all of the company’s platforms. Steven Pleshette Murphy, Rodale CEO, said with her combination of marketing and editorial expertise, Rinaldi is the right person to help sell Rodale's titles through its trade, direct mail and Internet channel. Murphy said Rodale's book sales are now over $200 million and with Rinaldi on board, the company will continue to invest in its book operation. "We are bullish on books," he said.
In making the announcement to Bloomsbury staff, Richard Charkin called Rinaldi the “heart and soul” of the company; she has been at Bloomsbury for nine years and is largely responsible for building the U.S. operation. A spokesperson said Charkin will announce how Bloomsbury will replace Rinaldi within a few weeks.
