S&S Kids Forms New Paperback Group

Citing strong sales from its paperback imprints, Kristina Peterson, president of Simon & Schuster's children's division, has restructured the unit to create a separate paperback group. Aladdin and Simon Pulse, which had been part of Brenda Bowen's group, will become a distinct group "with a dedicated management team and a marketing team that thinks 'paperback first,' " Peterson said in a memo.

The two imprints already generate nearly one-third of the children's division's gross sales, and Peterson hopes the new structure will speed their growth. Until a new publisher is appointed, Peterson will assume day-to-day operations for the group and Ellen Krieger, v-p and associate publisher, will report to her.

As a result of the restructuring, Bowen will continue to oversee the Simon & Schuster, Atheneum and Margaret K. McElderry Books hardcover imprints. The Little Simon and Simon Spotlight imprints will remain under the direction of Robin Corey.

Other changes in the division include moving the sub rights and international sales functions, directed by Carol Roeder, into the sales and marketing division; Roeder will now report to Alan Smagler, senior v-p and associate publisher. The move will put all sales-oriented operations under the same umbrella, Peterson said. Peterson has also promoted Lisa Donovan to v-p managing editorial, with Donovan now reporting directly to Peterson.