David Rosenthal to Join Penguin Group (USA) as President and Publisher of a Major Start-Up

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan Petersen Kennedy, President, Penguin Group (USA) announced today that David Rosenthal, veteran publishing executive and former publisher and executive vice president of the Simon & Schuster imprint, is joining Penguin Group (USA) as president and publisher of a new general trade imprint, yet to be named. His appointment will be effective on January 10, 2011 and he will report to Mrs. Kennedy.

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Mrs. Kennedy commented, "David is truly an exciting addition to Penguin.  He's been a journalist, an editor, and a publisher, and his experience and involvement in every aspect of the business will attract and benefit a variety of authors. His imprint will represent and reinforce what we at Penguin believe: that people will always want to read great books, and that the ability of a publisher to find and mold these great books matters more now than ever before. We're delighted to begin working with him and eager to watch as his new imprint takes shape. It will be a wonderful addition to our already outstanding publishing list."

The new imprint will publish an eclectic mix of hardcover fiction and nonfiction titles, reflecting Mr. Rosenthal's wide range of interests, including suspense fiction, popular biography, literary novels, humor, music, and contemporary politics.  Mr. Rosenthal will start acquiring as soon as he is on board and expects to release his first titles in Fall 2011. The imprint will ultimately publish between 24 and 36 original titles per year.

Mr. Rosenthal commented, "Publishing is personal. This imprint will allow me to work on titles I'm passionate about and give me the opportunity to be extremely hands on with every book we publish. An imprint is a study in diversity, bound by a common goal: to find good books of their kind and bring them to the largest number of readers.   I also envision it as a kind of 'publishing laboratory,' where we may from time to time experiment with new ways of promoting books and connecting readers with writers. I enjoy the process, and am gratified by the success of so many contrasting authors. It has been, and will be, much fun. The development of this imprint is as exciting as anything I have ever done and I'm looking forward to being a part of Penguin Group (USA)."

Mr. Rosenthal, one of the most influential publishers and influential editors, is well known in the industry for identifying extraordinary books and writers.  During his tenure at Simon & Schuster, he published books by some of the most prestigious, award-winning New York Times bestselling authors, including David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bob Greene, Sandra Brown, Mary Higgins Clark, Chris Cleave, Richard Paul Evans, Paula Deen, Bob Woodward, Ron Suskind, Jimmy Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Amongst the many distinguished and bestselling authors personally acquired and/or edited by Mr. Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster and Random House are Robert Harris, Martin Cruz Smith, Bob Dylan, Richard Ben Cramer, James J. Cramer, Jeffery Deaver, James Carville, Stephen Hunter, Ed McBain, Jon Krakauer, Richard Russo, Hunter S. Thompson, Bruce Wagner, James Lee Burke, Twyla Tharp, Bill McKibben, Carrie Fisher, Henry Beard, Nicholson Baker, Don Rickles, Bill Maher, Mary Matalin, Marianne Wiggins and Paul Simon.

NOTE TO THE PRESS:

David Rosenthal served as publisher and executive vice-president of the Simon & Schuster imprint from 1997 until June of this year. Prior to that he was the publisher of Villard Books and an executive editor of the Random House imprint.  Before entering book publishing, Mr. Rosenthal wrote for a variety of national magazines and worked as the managing editor of Rolling Stone and executive editor of New York magazine. He was also editorial consultant for WNET/13, developing cultural and political programming.  Mr. Rosenthal began his career in media as a reporter and editor for the New York Post. He is also proud of being the only trade publisher to both play the viola and to have worked in the morgue at New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group.  Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (http://www.penguin.com) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.

SOURCE Penguin Group (USA)