Ben Sevier has been promoted to executive v-p, from senior v-p, at Grand Central Publishing Group, in addition to his role as publisher. Consequently, Sevier announced that Beth de Guzman has been promoted to senior v-p and deputy publisher for the Grand Central Publishing division, and Leah Hultenschmidt has been promoted to publisher of the Forever imprint.
"In his six years at the helm of GCP, Ben has steadily and confidently expanded the strengths and skills of this great publishing division," Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch wrote in a statement. "Under his leadership, GCP has brought in a slew of bestselling novelists, including Harlan Coben, Patricia Cornwell, Steve Berry, Iris Johansen, Lisa Gardner, and Colleen Hoover, while advancing the careers of established authors like David Baldacci, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, and Sandra Brown. He has recruited and nurtured an excellent editorial team and expanded the range of GCP’s publishing expertise."
In his own note to staff, Sevier wrote that "Guzman has had an almost unparalleled impact on GCP since joining in 2001." In addition to founding the Forever imprint, Guzman helped "establish the imprint as a leader in romance and women’s fiction publishing and a reliable driver of revenue and profit for the company," said Sevier. "She has been digital and paperback publisher, working with all of Grand Central’s editors to expand their books’ opportunities in those formats, especially across our industry-leading roster of bestselling thriller and suspense authors."
In her new role as deputy publisher, Guzman will serve as Sevier's second in command, as well as the main liaison for sales on behalf of GCP's five imprints: Grand Central, Forever, Twelve, Legacy Lit, and Balance.
"She will represent GCP to most central HBG resources, serving as the first point of contact for operations, audio, pricing, Hachette Speakers Bureau, library and academic marketing, and will supplement the imprint marketing teams on certain HBG Marketing Strategy initiatives," wrote Sevier, adding that she will continue working directly with authors James Patterson and Michael Connelly.
Hultenschmidt joined GCP as editorial director nearly a decade ago, "helping to manage a fast-growing list and acquiring and editing a big number of titles," said Sevier. Her marketplace acumen and her collaborative spirit has maximized the frontlist and backlist opportunities for the imprint.
"Over the years, her editorial star has shone brighter and brighter, most notably with the acquisitions of Abby Jimenez and Natasha Lester, both of whom quickly became New York Times bestsellers and two of Forever’s most profitable authors," said Sevier. "In her new role at the helm of Forever, the imprint will benefit even more from her mentorship and leadership."
