Following an earlier announcement of companywide staff cuts at the Walt Disney Company, Hyperion publisher Bob Miller announced that five employees have accepted voluntary buyouts and will be leaving the company.
In April, Disney announced that it would eliminate 3% of its staff worldwide. At that time, Miller acknowledged that Hyperion, Disney's adult trade book unit, would probably lose several positions from its 55-person staff. Miller emphasized to PW that the departing staffers volunteered to take the buyout offers.
Of the five staffers leaving Hyperion, two are from editorial and the rest from subsidiary rights and publicity. One of those leaving is editor Maureen O'Brien, who edited books by Bill Cosby, Malachy McCourt, Liz Smith and Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. She said her five years at Hyperion had been "great" and told PW that the buyout was a "beautiful opportunity. I'm restless to try something new." O'Brien said she would be taking on freelance projects in the interim. She can be reached by e-mail at maureenobriennyc@aol.com.
