Tin House Books, the respected Portland Ore.-based independent publisher, announced Thursday that publisher Craig Popelars has stepped down after four years with the company. Popelars, who had been director of marketing at Algonquin Books, joined Tin House in 2019.
Editorial director Masie Cochran has been appointed interim publisher. Cochran joined Tin House in 2011, after a role with InkWell Management Literary Agency. For the past four years, she has been Tin House’s editorial director, and she will continue to serve in that role while interim publisher.
In a press release, Popelars wrote, "I want to share my deepest gratitude to the outstanding and inspiring staff at Tin House, as well as the immensely talented authors, who made my time with the program so rewarding." Popelars took over as publisher from Tin House owner Win McCormack with a mandate to broaden its publishing program. In a statement, McCormack thanked Popelars for his contributions: "He has been an asset to our program, and we wish him well with his future endeavors."
A spokesperson for Tin House told PW, the company had no further comment on Popelars' departure.
Established in 2005, Tin House Books publishes two dozen titles per year and, through its Tin House Workshop, offers summer residencies and year-round online writing craft courses. The quarterly Tin House Magazine operated from 1999–2019, and Tin House presently partners with David Naimon's literary podcast Between the Covers. New-and-used indie bookstore Bishop & Wilde occupies the ground floor of Tin House’s office space in Portland.
