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Oct 18 – Oct 24, 2010 Edition Jon Meacham Named Random House VP, Executive Editor

NEW YORK/NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/October 20, 2010–Jon Meacham, the former editor of Newsweek magazine and the Pulitzer Prize–winning and bestselling author of AMERICAN LION, is joining the staff of the Random House Publishing Group as Executive Vice President and Executive Editor. His appointment, effective January 3, 2011, was announced today by Gina Centrello, President and Publisher, Random House Publishing Group, to whom he will report.

Mr. Meacham will acquire and edit a select number of nonfiction titles each year by seasoned and emerging talent for the Random House list, working with Susan Kamil, the Publisher of the Random House imprint. “Jon will help us carry forward the Random House nonfiction publishing tradition, with a particular emphasis on works of history, biography, and religion,” said Ms. Kamil. “I look forward to working closely with Jon.”

In his newly created capacity, Mr. Meacham will work with Ms. Kamil and Kate Medina, Associate Publisher, advising Ms. Centrello on a broad scope of publishing opportunities. He will also explore potential digital-publishing initiatives, drawing on his journalistic perspective and experience and his wide-ranging international contacts.

A Random House author since 2003 with the publication of FRANKLIN AND WINSTON, Mr. Meacham won the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for AMERICAN LION: ANDREW JACKSON IN THE WHITE HOUSE, which Random House published in November 2008. AMERICAN LION and FRANKLIN AND WINSTON were New York Times bestsellers in their hardcover and trade paperback editions. Mr. Meacham is under contract to Random House to write biographies of Thomas Jefferson and George H. W. Bush, both which will be edited by Kate Medina, his longtime editor. “Jon has so many good ideas for books, more ideas than he could ever write,” said Ms. Media. “Now we will have the opportunity to work with him to bring some of those ideas to fruition at Random House.”

Ms. Centrello said, “Jon’s inquisitive intellect and turn of mind, his proactive, push-the-envelope sensibility, and his nurturing, collaborative approach to working with writers and colleagues make him a unique and valued addition to Random House. Now, we will be able to benefit from having Jon both as one of our finest authors and as one of our forward-thinking editors, a member of our team who will be a strong magnet for fellow writers.”

Commenting on his new position, Mr. Meacham said, “For more than a decade, I have had a splendid relationship with Random House as an author, and now it feels natural to extend this relationship into a role as a contributor to their publishing program. I love editing, I love books, and I love the people at Random House, which always has felt like the right place for me. I have benefited enormously over the years as an author from the terrific work of Gina Centrello, my editor Kate Medina, and the greater Random House publishing team. I am excited about my new working relationships with Susan Kamil and our editorial and publishing colleagues, and exploring and advancing with them many interesting print and digital publishing opportunities.”

Jon Meacham spent the previous fifteen years at Newsweek, where he was Editor until he decided to step down this past summer. He began his journalism career at the Chattanooga Times in 1991, and was an editor of The Washington Monthly from 1993 to 1995. He also is the author of AMERICAN GOSPEL: GOD, THE FOUNDING FATHERS, AND THE MAKING OF A NATION, and he edited VOICES IN OUR BLOOD: AMERICA’S BEST ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. He continues to co-host the PBS-TV broadcast magazine Need to Know.

The Random House Publishing Group is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG.