Reader's Digest Realigns Book Group
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 6/4/2007
About three months after it was acquired by Ripplewood Holdings, Reader's Digest has made a number of new appointments in its book operations to better align the book unit with the overall RD business.
RD is now organized around four affinity divisions—RD Inspiration, Home & Garden, Health & Wellness, and Food & Entertaining—with most of the U.S. book publishing operations, as well as Reader's Digest magazine, part of RD Inspiration. Harold Clarke, formerly president and publisher of RD's trade publishing, has been named president and publisher of RD Inspiration Books, Music and Trade Publishing. Clarke reports to Eva Dillon, president of RD Inspiration. As part of the restructuring, Select Editions has been moved under Clarke, and its editor-in-chief, Laura Kelly, reports to Clarke. In addition, the World Almanac and Children's Almanac, which had been part of another Ripplewood company, WRC Media, have been added to Clarke's responsibilities.
Neil Wertheimer, editor-in-chief of RD Living Books, has joined the Home & Garden and Health & Wellness divisions, reporting to Alyce Alston, president of those divisions. Wertheimer will work on book projects for the two groups. Reiman's Home & Garden and Country books will become part of the Home & Garden division, while all RD and Reiman books related to food and cooking will become part of the Food & Entertainment division. A fifth division, School & Educational Services, houses Books Are Fun as well as the Weekly Reader Publishing Group. The division is headed by Michael Geltzeiler, previously RD's CFO. As part of the realignment, RD Canada has been shifted from the old North America group to the international division.
