Two HarperCollins Imprints Name New Editorial Directors

HarperCollins has named new executive directors for its Mariner Books and Dey Street Books imprints. 

Caroline Zancan has joined Mariner Books as editorial director of fiction after 12 years at Henry Holt, where she was most recently executive editor. She was previously at Knopf.

Among her acquisitions at Holt were The Wedding People, by Alison Espach, a Read with Jenna pick; Piglet, by Lottie Hazell, a 2024 New York Times notable book and a finalist for the B&N Discover Prize; and The End of Drum-Time, by Hanna Pylväinen, a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction.

Zancan is also the author of two novels published by Riverhead, including, in 2020, We Wish You Luck, which PW called, in its review, an “inventive, addictive second novel” about “the bonds, ambitions, and betrayals within a group of aspiring writers at a low-residency MFA program.”

Libby Burton has joined Dey Street Books as VP and editorial director. Burton comes to HarperCollins from Penguin Random House, where she was an executive editor at Crown.

In her new role, she will drive the acquisition of high-profile nonfiction titles and work with each member of the editorial team. She will also work to build a body of titles that Dey Street will contribute to the recently announced HarperPop imprint. 

Prior to her tenure at Crown, Burton held editorial roles at Henry Holt & Company, Twelve Books, and Grand Central Publishing. During her career, Burton has edited a wide range of books, including a forthcoming memoir by former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams, I Swear by Katie Porter, The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey, So Sad Today by Melissa Broder, Abortion by Jessica Valenti, This American Ex-Wife by Lyz Lenz, and 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei. She is also the author of the poetry collection Soft Volcano.