In S&S Reorg, Perl Rises and Hirschhorn Leaves

In a reorganization at Simon & Schuster that will see the merger of the house’s digital department with its corporate marketing department, Liz Perl has been promoted and Ellie Hirschhorn, who was executive v-p and chief digital officer, is leaving the company.

Schnittman to Leave Hachette

Evan Schnittman will leave Hachette Book Group on December 12. With his departure, HBG will eliminate the position of chief marketing and sales officer. To lead its sales operation, HBG has promoted Chris Murphy to senior v-p, group sales director.

HarperOne Launching HarperElixir

HarperCollins’s HarperOne division will introduce a new line next fall dedicated to the body, mind, and spirit category. HarperElixir will be headed by Claudia Boutote, HarperOne senior v-p and associate publisher, and will release 15 titles per year.

Second Circuit Hears Google Books Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit heard oral arguments on December 3 in the Authors Guild v. Google case, but despite a lengthy argument, the Guild faces an uphill bid to reverse Judge Denny Chin’s 2013 ruling in favor of Google. The appeal hearing is the latest twist in the Guild’s nine-year battle against Google over its efforts to digitize out-of-print titles.

Harper’s Invests In Book Culture

Harper’s magazine announced that its publisher, John “Rick” MacArthur, is getting into the bookselling business as a minority partner in a new Book Culture store on the Upper West Side in New York City (Book Culture operates two other stores in N.Y.C.).