Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial has promoted Larry Downs, a veteran of the Spanish-language Christian book industry, to VP and publisher of its religious division. In addition to overseeing editorial initiatives at the publisher, Downs “has been pivotal in shaping key sales strategies” and “the production of Bibles,” PRHGE president and CEO Silvia Matute wrote in a letter to staff announcing the promotion.
Downs joined PRHGE in 2020 as director and publisher of Origen, the religious books imprint at Penguin Random House Español, after a 14-year-career at Thomas Nelson and a subsequent four-year stint at HarperCollins. Under his leadership, the division integrated Grupo Nivel Uno as a distributed company and has expanded its Bible program, including translating popular Bibles from Spanish to English.
The appointment comes during a period of strong growth in the publisher’s religious division, particularly in the U.S. and Latin America, and in the religion segment at large. In March, Matute told PW that sales of religious books have been growing approximately 40% year over year at PRHGE.
“Larry Downs has earned the respect and admiration of his peers and colleagues alike,” Matute wrote in her letter. “His visionary leadership has been crucial in driving the success of the Religious Division, which is on track to achieve significant revenue milestones this year.”
