Weiss to St. Martin's

YA publisher to develop content for Gen Y readers

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 11/5/2009 7:58:00 AM

Veteran publishing exec Dan Weiss has a new job as publisher at large at St. Martin’s, reporting to Matthew Shear, senior v-p and publisher of the house’s paperback and consumer reference groups. Weiss will work on developing content for Gen Y readers—“emerging adults who are navigating career, love and family in a 24/7 connected world,” explained Shear. Weiss told PW he is open to pursuing projects both electronically and in print. Weiss said Gen Y readers are “strikingly different from previous ones, both in their consumption and creation of content and media.”

Weiss’s book packaging company, Daniel Weiss Associates (DWAI)/17th Street produced the series Sweet Valley High among other adult and children’s books. Weiss’s background also includes eight years as publisher and managing director of Sparknotes.com. He said that based on his success with digital publishing at Spark, he would “look forward to trying those experiments” at St. Martin’s.

As for series fiction, which Weiss is known for, he said he plans on continuing it at St. Martin’s but that he will not be limited to series. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to do what’s great, whether that’s stand-alones or series. I can be opportunistic and deliberate at the same time. Whatever format—individual titles or series, or digital, I’m open to it for sure.”