CBC Gets New Executive Director

by Diane Roback, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 8/23/2006

Robin Adelson has been appointed executive director of the Children’s Book Council, the trade association of the children’s publishing industry. Adelson, an attorney, is currently associate general counsel at the media company Primedia. In a statement, Adelson said she was “thrilled [to have] the opportunity to lead this organization toward its rightful place as the foremost resource in the world of children’s publishing.”

Roaring Brook publisher Simon Boughton, currently chair of the CBC’s board of directors, explained that the organization has traditionally been supported in part by member dues and in part by the manufacture and sale of materials to support literacy. “The financial landscape has been changing for the CBC,” he said. “The market for those materials has changed, so that has changed the shape of the CBC’s budget. One of the issues the executive director has to face is how that affects the trade organization.” He also said that a primary goal is for CBC to be a visible and effective trade organization, as well as an effective literacy organization.

Adelson joins the CBC on September 18. She replaces Paula Quint, who retired earlier this year, after 40 years with the CBC.