Geringer to Work with Egmont USA

By John A. Sellers -- Publishers Weekly, 5/28/2009 7:45:00 AM

Laura Geringer has partnered with Egmont USA, to selectively edit titles for the house on a nonexclusive basis. “We felt she could bring something dynamic to our list,” said Doug Pocock, executive v-p at Egmont. “She’s bringing her editorial expertise. She’s bringing authors and some connections and she’s bringing complementary tastes, I’d say.”

Geringer’s first book with Egmont will be Beth Kephart’s Dangerous Neighbors, set during Philadelphia’s Centennial celebration in 1876, which is scheduled for fall 2010. Pocock describes Geringer as a “free agent,” able to bring titles to other houses as well (including HarperCollins, with which Geringer has an ongoing relationship), and he says Egmont’s arrangement with her is “book by book.” As such, the number of titles she will bring to Egmont has not yet been set. Though Geringer won’t have dedicated staff at Egmont for her titles, an in-house editor will be assigned to each book.

“What we have is a sort of flexible approach to how we’re going to achieve our goals,” Pocock says. “The market’s not the same as it was 12 months ago. It seems like a good opportunity to try.”

Geringer stepped down from her eponymous imprint last August. Authors she has worked with include Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond, William Joyce, Avi and Lois Ehlert.