Holton Hires di Capua

by Diane Roback, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 12/13/2005

Michael di Capua is moving his children's book imprint from Hyperion to Scholastic, as of January 2. He will report to Lisa Holton, president of trade publishing and book fairs at Scholastic. Di Capua will continue to work with his authors and illustrators, including Maurice Sendak, Jules Feiffer and Natalie Babbitt, while his backlist remains with his previous houses.

This is the third time Holton and di Capua will have worked together. Di Capua was an editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 25 years, forming Michael di Capua Books there in 1987, and moving in 1991 to HarperCollins's children’s division, which Holton had just joined as marketing director. Holton left in 1996 to become publisher of Hyperion Books for Children and Disney Press; three years later, she brought MDC Books to Hyperion, where di Capua has published 11 titles between spring 2001 and this fall.

"Michael and I have worked together on and off for 14 years," Holton said. “He has taught me an enormous amount about how to publish great children's books, and I have really enjoyed helping him publish great books with his authors and illustrators. I'm thrilled that he’s coming to Scholastic, where he’ll have the opportunity to market his books directly to children through the clubs and fairs."