New Managing Director for Graywolf

by Claire Kirch, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 5/14/2007

Graywolf Press, the St. Paul nonprofit literary publisher, has made some major staffing changes and reorganizations. Last month, Janna Rademacher, Graywolf marketing and managing director for the past five years, left to pursue other interests, and her departure was followed this month by Anne Czarniecki, senior executive editor and art director for the past 17 years, who cited personal reasons for her departure.

To fill those rolls, Anna Peterson was named to the newly created position of managing director. Her responsibilities will include personal, corporate and foundation development. She will join Graywolf after BEA. Peterson served as program coordinator for the writing program at Columbia University for the past seven years, and has also taught at Pace University.

Rolph Blythe will join Graywolf some time this summer as the press's marketing director. Blythe most recently was the principal of Blythe Agency, a literary agency in New York. Before becoming a literary agent, he served as head of marketing at Counterpoint Press for three years.

"Both Blythe and Peterson are originally from Minnesota," Mary Matze, Graywolf's publicity manager, said. "And they both wanted to be back here, a happy coincidence."

In addition, Katie Dublinski, an editor at the press for 10 years, as been promoted to editorial director.

Graywolf, which successfully completed an ambitious million-dollar fund-raising drive for marketing and editorial initiatives this past December, is releasing eight titles this spring, including Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (June), shortlisted for the prestigious international IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, carrying a purse of $135,000.