Ditlow to Leave Random House

By Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly, 11/29/2007 7:09:00 AM

Tim Ditlow, who was appointed v-p, publisher at large for the Random House Audio Group in May, is leaving the company. Effective January 1, he will serve as an outside advisor to Random House Audio, though details have not been finalized. Ditlow has said that the shift will allow him more time with his new son and family.

Previously, Ditlow was the longtime publisher of children’s audiobook company Listening Library, which has been an imprint of Random House Audio since its purchase by RH in 1999. Listening Library was founded in 1955 by Ditlow’s parents and he has been involved in many capacities with the family business throughout his career. Some of Ditlow’s key Listening Library acquisitions include a bevy of Newbery Award winners, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and the U.S. audio editions of the Harry Potter books, read by Jim Dale, who won a Grammy for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. J.K. Rowling’s final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, became the fastest-selling audiobook in history, with a tally of 225,000 copies sold during its first weekend of release this past July. The Potter series remains the bestselling audiobook series of all time.