Richter to Head S&S Kids; Norton Takes on Sales

Rick Richter was president of Simon & Schuster's children's publishing division from 1996 to 1999, when he was tabbed to run the company's sales division. Now he is returning to his former post to succeed Kristina Peterson, and Larry Norton, senior v-p and director of sales, takes over as president of that division.

Richter said he's happy about his new/old role. "It's a chance to return to the creative side, which I like a little more," he said. Richter, who also headed Candlewick for a few years in the mid-1990s, said he'll be looking to create more series, à la Olivia, that could sustain a list for years to come and get retailers involved in the development of the publishing program.

Richter also said he'll face some new challenges this time around, as hallmarks of adult publishing like a heavier emphasis on frontlist and broadcast media and smaller windows for big books spill over to children's. "It's a different market," he said. "Most major houses are dependent on the income they're getting from juvenile publishing, so we want to take on more of a dynamic role. We want to be able to plan for the results rather than have them arrive in our lap."

Norton will be responsible for sales of all S&S titles through all marketing channels and will oversee the company's client distribution business. He will report to S&S president Jack Romanos.