MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
July 23 – 30, 2009 Edition
Nichols Named Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publisher
BOSTON & NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE, July 22, 2009) –Gary Gentel, president of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division, announced today that Bruce Nichols has been appointed senior vice president and publisher of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Adult & Reference Group.
In this role, Nichols will direct all Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade and reference adult publishing, which includes trade hardcover, cookbooks and trade paperback programs including Mariner Books, field guides and reference.
“Nichols is widely recognized in the industry for his leadership, innovation and keen editorial judgment, and his ability to find topics and writers that attract national attention,” says Gentel. “We want to build on our legacy, but also look to the future, and I’m thrilled to have Bruce guide our adult and reference programs.”
In his two years at HarperCollins, Nichols served as publisher of Collins and Collins Reference. Bestsellers there include Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg, Russell Brand’s My Booky Wook and Bill Russell’s Red and Me. Prior to that he was vice president and executive editor at the Free Press where he worked for 15 years. His authors include Daniel Tammet, Pervez Musharraf, Francis Collins, Richard Clarke, Ron Powers, James Risen and Lee Eisenberg.
“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s list, from front to back, is distinguished, significant and literary,” says Nichols. “I am tremendously excited by the chance to work with the talented team there, and with such wonderful authors.”
Adds Gentel, “In a happy historical coincidence, it turns out Bruce’s grandfather, Stephen W. Grant, spent his entire career at Houghton Mifflin, from 1931 – 1973, serving as the Company’s president from 1963 – 1973.”
Nichols will start at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on August 3 and will be based in the New York office.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Division publishes adult, juvenile and reference books. Its award-winning and bestselling adult titles encompass literary fiction and a broad spectrum of nonfiction in hardcover, paperback and electronic books including the Mariner Books line of trade paperbacks. Among the adult brands are JRR Tolkien titles and The Best American Series. The adult group also publishes cookbooks and fields guides, including the Peterson Field Guides. Its reference titles include the American Heritage family of dictionaries. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group encompasses three award-winning imprints as well as the Graphia and Sandpiper paperback lines: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Clarion Books and Harcourt Children’s Books.
