"For the past 25 years Suzanne has published my novels, with some measure of success," the author John Grisham wrote last year in tribute to Suzanne Herz, former executive v-p and publisher of Vintage/Anchor Books and executive director of publishing at Doubleday, after she took a buyout as Penguin Random House announced the incremental folding of Anchor Books. "I cannot believe she is leaving Doubleday."

Lucky for Grisham, Herz's retirement didn't last long: she will return to Penguin Random House as publisher of John Grisham on April 15, reporting to PRH chief revenue officer Jaci Updike. The move comes in advance of the publication of Grisham's 50th book, Camino Ghosts, in May, and in advance of the publication of his first nonfiction book in 18 years, Framed, in October.

In her new role, Herz will oversee the publishing strategy for the John Grisham brand, "which will now live alongside the sales and corporate marketing teams," Updike wrote in a memo—a "new alignment" that will "enable us to work even more collaboratively to expand John Grisham’s readership, and will help position the brand for future growth across both frontlist and backlist, and in all formats."

Herz had, since the buyout, been working in "an external, consulting role as John Grisham’s longtime publisher, overseeing his frontlist and backlist in concert with John’s Doubleday team," according to the letter to staff from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group president and publisher Maya Mavjee announcing Herz's retirement last year.

"Suzanne and John have worked together on close to forty of his titles, all of them #1 New York Times bestsellers," Updike wrote. "They are an unprecedented, dynamic duo in the publishing landscape."

Grisham's books "will continue to be published under the Doubleday colophon, with his central publishing support and sales teams remaining in place," Updike added. In addition to Herz, Lauren Weber—who currently oversees "the day-to-day Grisham marketing activities, brand partnerships, newsletters, and social channels," and who joined Doubleday in 2012 as Herz's assistant—has been promoted to executive director of brand development for John Grisham.

Herz began her 30-year career at PRH at Putnam as a publicist, and was named publisher of Vintage/Anchor in 2019. Over the course of her 27 years at Doubleday in particular, Herz worked with authors including Mitch Albom, Margaret Atwood, Carl Bernstein, Dan Brown, Bill Bryson, Katie Couric, Mikhail Gorbachev, David Grann, Jane Green, Anita Hill, Jon Krakauer, Kevin Kwan, Ian McEwan, Erin Morgenstern, Lauren Weisberger, Colson Whitehead, and Hanya Yanagihara.

This story has been updated with further information.