Rinaldi Heading To Rodale
Bloomsbury USA’s publisher and president Karen Rinaldi is leaving the publisher to join Rodale, where she will be senior v-p, general manager and publishing director. Rinaldi starts at Rodale April 1 and will oversee editorial and publishing for all of Rodale’s books. Bloomsbury’s plans to replace Rinaldi will be announced later this month.
Octopus Sets Up in U.S.
Octopus Books has formed its own North American group. Octopus Books USA will begin publishing in January 2009. Previously, the Hachette-owned European publisher of illustrated books had sold co-editions of its titles to North American publishers. Jonathan Stolper, current v-p of client services at Hachette Book Group USA and former v-p of sales and marketing at Abrams, will become v-p, associate publisher, of Octopus Books USA. He will report to Andrew Welham, deputy CEO of Octopus in London, and will be based at Hachette Book Group USA offices in New York. HBG will handle sales and distribution for the list in the U.S.; Canadian Manda will handle sales in Canada.
Kensington Adds Imprint
Kensington Publishing is once again expanding its presence in the African-American market with the launch of Souls of My Sisters, an imprint focused on inspirational books. The program is based on a bestselling title of the same name by Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy, and is the result of a copublishing agreement between Kensington and Souls of My Sisters Inc., an African-American—oriented entertainment company owned by Daniels and Sandy. The imprint will publish a minimum of four titles a year.
New Owners for Whitman
The Morton Grove, Ill.—based children’s book publisher Albert Whitman & Company has been acquired by John Quattrochi and Patrick McPartland. The two bought the 550-title house from Joe Boyd, who’s been president since 1986, and Whitman veteran Richard Gutrich. Quattrochi will serve as president and McPartland will be vice-president.
