PW: Murphy to Succeed Fedorko as Morrow Publisher

In addition to Murphy's move, Morrow also announced the promotions of Jacqueline Deval and Pam H nig. Deval, former v-p and associate publisher of Hearst Books, has been named v-p and publisher of the line, while H nig has been promoted from executive editor to associate publisher of Morrow's cookbook program. In her new position, Deval will continue to oversee the company's publishing program that is tied in to Hearst's magazines, such as Cosmopolitan. The publisher has increased the number of titles it d s with the magazines from 10 to more than 20, and the book unit now works with 12 Hearst magazines, compared to five in the past. Deval will report to William Wright, president and CEO of the Hearst Book Group, while H nig will report to Murphy.

Murphy said he plans to "build aggressively on Morrow's strengths in business books, fiction and reference." Murphy also promised that Morrow will remain a major cookbook publisher and that the company will continue to develop its trade paperback business and other categories such as mystery, health and select commercial fiction. Prior to joining Morrow, Murphy held sales positions with Putnam and Ballantine.

Fedorko, who had been associate publisher and marketing director at Dell, was named publisher of Morrow in August 1996 after a yearlong search to find a replacement for Elizabeth Perle McKenna. Fedorko said he will be announcing his new plans shortly. Wright thanked Fedorko for helping to rejuvenate the company, noting that Morrow is off to a strong start in 1998. Morrow had a mixed 1997, with sales up by more than 10%, while earnings, hurt by some high advances, rose at a slower rate.