Cutbacks at North-South

Children's book publisher North-South Books has eliminated 12 positions (one-third of its staff), and the company is reviewing its future publishing plans. North-South spokesperson Shellie Parkhill said the difficult economy resulted in disappointing sales in 2001, forcing the company to cut jobs. "We had increased our staff by quite a number of people over the last few years, but with the economic situation, it wasn't working anymore," Parkhill said.

Although Parkhill said there are no plans at present to discontinue any imprints, the company's list will be reduced by an undetermined number of titles, and first printings will be lowered. The publisher has been doing between 75 and 100 new titles annually. In addition, David Reuther, president and publisher of North-South, has relinquished those positions and is in discussions with North-South's parent company, Nord-Sud Verlag, about his future role with the company.

Davy Sidjanski, founder of the Switzerland-based company, is currently serving as president and publisher of North-South. Matt Navorrow, a company v-p, will oversee day-to-day functions in New York, while Marc Cheshire will serve as a consultant helping North-South make the transition to being a smaller company. Among those let go was Mary-Alice Moore, who was hired last fall as v-p and editor-in-chief to coordinate the launch of the novelty imprint Night Sky Books. Parkhill said Night Sky will continue, using editorial staff from other imprints.