Richter, Pfeffer to Leave S&S Kids
By Diane Roback -- Publishers Weekly, 12/3/2008 10:30:00 AM
Rick Richter, president of S&S Children’s Publishing, is leaving the company, effective December 5. Senior v-p and publisher Rubin Pfeffer is also departing.
Richter joined S&S in 1996 as publisher of the children’s division. In 1999 he was named president of the newly consolidated S&S sales and distribution division, and then became president at S&S Children's in 2003. He headed Candlewick Press from 1993 to 1996, and before that had been children’s sales director at William Morrow. Under his leadership, revenues for the division have nearly doubled.
Pfeffer joined S&S in 2005. He had been senior v-p and chief creative officer at Pearson Education, and before that spent 26 years with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
In a statement, S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy said that she was conducting a search for Richter’s successor, and Dennis Eulau, executive v-p, operations at S&S, would be in charge of the division on an interim basis. Pfeffer's position has been eliminated and he will not be replaced.
"I leave on very good terms with Simon & Schuster," Richter told PW. "I'm very grateful for being allowed to pursue a number of diverse interests. We sold a lot of books and had a lot of fun, and I intend to do that again very soon."
