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Scholastic's Sasha Quinton opens People of Publishing Conference. WEBWIRE - Thursday, October 8, 2026 Last week Sasha Quinton, President, Scholastic Children's Book Group joined Mary McAveney, President and CEO, Abrams; and Dominique Raccah, President and CEO, Sourcebooks to open the American Literary Agents' People of Publishing Conference. The women appeared as part of a panel titled "How She Leads," moderated by Regina Brooks, President of the Association of American Literary Agents. The opening session was made up of innovators, disruptors, and visionary women who are shaping publishing. Among the topics they discussed were what it means to be a female leader and why that matters, as well as how leaders can cultivate new generations of readers, respond to changing consumer behavior, and use emerging technologies responsibly to create growth opportunities. "I'm inspired to be sitting alongside these extraordinary women today," Quinton said during the panel. "As more women take seats on stages, in boardrooms, and in leadership roles, more will follow... We have so many examples of strong, successful, effective female leadership, and I believe we'll continue to see that number grow." Later in the discussion, Quinton also noted that she'd like to see the industry make a real commitment to changing access and engagement, adding, "This is a highly solvable problem, and together we can make sure every child born in America has books. We can make sure all kids have the opportunity to love reading." This year's theme, Growing Together, reflected the need to keep pace with changing reader habits, new technologies, and an increasingly complex marketplace, and also included a panel called "Managing Your List with Strategy and Intention, moderated by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Scholastic VP and Executive Editor, Trade. Davis Pinkney spoke with Aram Fox, Agent with Massie, McQuilkin & Altman; Ashley Hong, Editor at Crown & Crown Currency; Emilia Rhodes, Executive Editor at Atria; and Monica Rodriguez, Director of Brand Management and Senior Agent at Context Literary Agency. They examined how agents and editors can evaluate, reshape, and optimize their lists to balance creative ambition, market realities, workload, and career goals. "Conversations like these remind me how much we gain by sharing experience, questioning assumptions, and collaborating across our different roles to help us see possibilities we might otherwise miss," Davis Pinkney said after the panel. You can learn more about the event, which was held at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and brings together literary agents, editors, and other publishing professionals for meaningful networking, education, and professional development, here. WebWireID362614 This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted. Distribute your news. * Every day, hundreds of individuals and companies choose WebWire to distribute their news. * WebWire places your news within numerous highly trafficked news search engines generating leads and publicity. * Submit Your Release Now!

People roundup August 2026. People. Jeff McLaughlin has been appointed to the newly created position of SVP, business development at Abrams, effective August 10. McLaughlin, most recently SVP at Insight Editions, will oversee the publisher's expansion of its customer proprietary programs, strategic partnerships, and new revenue channels beyond traditional publishing. Patricia Toussaint has joined as email lifecycle manager, Vickie Tu has joined as sales coordinator, and Stephanie Pando has joined as senior publicist. At Norton, editor Amy Cherry has retired from Norton after almost 42 years. Mollie Reid has joined as senior publicist. She was previously at Penguin Press. Columbia Global Reports names Angela Baggetta as their new publisher. At Penguin Random House, Erica Ferguson joins as production editor on the Zeitgeist team. Ferguson previously worked as a temporary production editor at Zeitgeist. Random House Children's has Irene Vandervoort joining as senior designer, art/design. She was previously a freelance art director at Aladdin. At Penguin Random House Christian, Erynn Peckham joins as marketing manager. She was previously at David C Cook. At Penguin Press, Liza Buell has joined as publicist. She was previously at Celadon, Atria, and New York Road Runners. At Harper Children's, Emilia Sowersby has joined as editor, KAZÉ. She was previously associate editor at Macmillan. Mikhail Fernandes has joined as assistant designer, Harper Alley and KAZÉ. At Ecco, Liese Mayer has joined as executive editor. Park Row Books has Rachel Smalter Hall joining as editor. Hall was previously at Audible Originals. Chronicle Books brings on Vanessa Lopez in the newly created role of senior director, licensed publishing. Sourcebooks has Serena Knudson joining as marketing associate, independent bookstores & events. At Berrett-Koehler Publishers, editorial director Neal Maillet retired on July 31 after 16 years with the company. Haven Iverson joins as senior editor. She previously served as editorial director at Sounds True. Macmillan has hired Stephanie Aynilian as senior manager, workplace experience. Gwyneth Bechunas has joined as HPLLC (trade sales), manager, operations, planning, & administration and Renee Coppola has joined as senior manager, Email Marketing, CIMA, reporting to Trish O'Neill. Emma Greydanus joined as manager, retail media advertising, CIMA. Ivan Rey comes on as senior accountant, royalties, accounting & finance. Elizabeth Rine has joined Macmillan as director, children's sales, trade sales. Kaitlin Zuelch joined as senior director, procurement, accounting & finance. Samantha Slavin transfers from the Fableistik team to the trade sales team as manager, national accounts. Within Macmillan Audio, Saige Gipson has joined as associate, multimedia content and Barbara Pizzella has joined as associate, backlist and trends. At Center for Fiction, Julia Alvarez will receive the NYC Center for Fiction's 2026 Lifetime of Excellence in Fiction Award. Zando brings on Rhoda Belleza as senior editor, original development. At Third Place Books, Milo Michels will become author events manager, succeeding Spencer Ruchti. In agency news... At Trellis Literary Management, Nataly Gruender has joined as operations manager. She was previously financial director at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. The Creative Media Agency has promoted Vicky Weber to associate literary agent and subrights manager. P.S. Literary Agency brings on Madison Potter as associate literary agent. She was previously at Olswanger Literary. Mark Ryan has launched a subsidiary rights agency, Backlist Literary Rights & Management, for self-published authors who want to license secondary rights while keeping their primary publishing rights. Rizzoli Libri has appointed Eccles Fisher Associates as their US scout. Promotions. Promotions at Norton include Meredith McGinnis to senior marketing director, while Rachel Salzman expands her role to senior publicity director, trade-academic campaign strategy. Erin Lovett expands her role to senior publicity director, creative and brand strategy. Alexa Pugh is promoted to director, backlist and academic marketing strategy. Steve Colca is promoted to marketing director, Mere Dowling is promoted to senior marketing manager, and Eliana Brown is promoted to associate publicist. Huneeya Siddiqui is promoted to associate editor, Norton Trade. Within Liveright, Nick Curley is promoted to associate director of marketing and Clio Hamilton is promoted to publicist. Naomi Duttweiler is promoted to senior marketing manager, Norton Young Readers. Molly Leahy is promoted to client services coordinator. Angeli Rafer is promoted to archive and digital assets manager, Leah Heath is promoted to assistant manager, prepress production & digital archive, and Nat Kent is promoted to assistant manager of digital production. Sofia Chartove is promoted to trade operations coordinator. Hana Nakamura is promoted to associate creative director and Ingsu Liu has been promoted to associate creative director, trade. Harper Children's promotes Sophie Schmidt to associate editor, Harper Alley, Shannah Harris to assistant editor, Greenwillow, and Monique Lowe to assistant editor, Clarion & Harper. Sourcebooks promotes Darren Orange to senior AI & automation engineer. Holly Ingraham has been promoted to assistant editorial director, romance. Gretchen Stelter has been promoted to senior developmental editor. Alessandra (Allie) Roche has been promoted to senior editor, romance and Cosmo Reads Lead. Madison Nankervis has been promoted to associate director, author brand development. Katie Stutz has been promoted to associate director of marketing. Random House Children's promotes Alice Moye-Honeyman, to designer, art/design and Ali Romig to editor, Delacorte. Crown promotes Ty Nowicki to senior director, ad/creative operations. Penguin Random House Christian promotes Hannah Little to associate, project management and editorial for She Reads Truth. Knopf promotes Juliane Pautrot to associate publicist. She is moving from Pantheon and will report to Emily Reardon. Penguin Publishing Group promotes Julie Coryell to senior publicist. Penguin Press promotes Kianna Ortiz to associate Publicist. Promotions at Macmillan include Kaitlyn Cullen to associate national account manager, Katie Layton to sales associate, Diego Molano Rodriguez director, trade sales, and Brad Wood to VP, online sales. Within Simon and Schuster, Vanessa Ioannidi has been promoted to sales manager, special markets. Kensington promotes Elizabeth May to executive editor. At Podium Entertainment, Taylor Bryon has been promoted to associate director of acquisitions. Duly noted. Pub Lunch reports that Amazon announced the recipients of its 2026 Literary Partnership, which provides $1 million in grants to 102 literary organizations across the country. Publishing houses receiving the grant include: Graywolf Press, Heyday, Hub City Press, Torrey House Press, Deep Vellum, Archipelago Books, and Zephyr Press. Literary magazines include: Electric Literature, The Drift, Sinister Wisdom, Foglifter Press, Alaska Quarterly Review, and 15 more. Organizations include: the National Book Foundation's Five Under 35 program; the Brooklyn Book Festival; the Miami Book Fair; the Center for Fiction's Emerging Fellowship program; and more. At Center for Fiction, Julia Alvarez will receive the NYC Center for Fiction's 2026 Lifetime of Excellence in Fiction Award. The Bertelsmann Printing Group's company Coral Graphic Services Inc., located on Long Island, is closing. The company will shut its doors this coming October, laying off 85 employees. Events. August 7th-9th, 2026. August 22nd, 2026. Washington, DC August 23rd, 2026. Los Angeles, CA August 29th, 2026. Harlem, NY