Penguin Canada Shuffles Canadian Publishing Division

By Josh Kerbel -- Publishers Weekly, 1/25/2008 6:50:00 AM

Fresh off its C$100-million year in 2007, the first in its 30-year history, David Davidar, president and publisher of Penguin Group Canada, announced a restructuring of the company. "It is with regret that I announce the departure of Barbara Berson from Penguin Group Canada as a result of the restructuring of the division," said Davidar. "Barbara has been a long-time member of the editorial department and will be missed." Nicole Winstanley, executive editor in charge of fiction, takes responsibility for Berson's authors, in addition to assuming charge of children's publishing. Additional changes at the publisher include the redistribution of responsibilities among editorial directors Andrea Magyar and Diane Turbide and senior editor Helen Reeves. Penguin plans to recruit a new editor to focus specifically on commercial fiction--crime, thrillers, romance, fantasy and historical novels.

This marks the second announced restructuring in the Canadian publishing industry for 2008, with Raincoat Books announcing that it will close its Canadian publishing operations after the spring 2008 season.