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.

"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."  

All the books have received a boost from release of the Twilight film, based on Meyer’s first book, and which has grossed $120 million in its first 10 days.   

EDC Buys Kane/Miller 
Educational Development Corp. has acquired Kane/Miller Publishers for an undisclosed price. Based in La Jolla, Calif., Kane/Miller publishes translated children’s titles, including picture books, and has a backlist of about 150 titles. EDC president Randall White said he plans to retain the Kane/Miller name as an imprint and will keep its editorial offices in California under the direction of Kira Lynn, the daughter of the company’s founder. All other operations will be moved to EDC’s Tulsa offices, and EDC will assume distribution of Kane/Miller starting at the beginning of the year.

Scholastic and Infinity Resolve 'Deathly Hallows' Suit 
Scholastic, Infinity Resources, Inc. and DeepDiscount.com have resolved a lawsuit filed by the children’s publisher against Infinity last year. Scholastic sued Infinity which operates the DeepDiscount e-tail Web site, when copies of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in Rowling’s series, were shipped to customers ahead of the book’s embargoed July 21 release date.

In a statement, Scholastic said that the suit had been “satisfactorily resolved” and that “Scholastic and Infinity are pleased to put those issues behind them.”

RDR Withdraws Appeal to 'Lexicon' Decision 
And in other Harry Potter legal news: just weeks after submitting an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals, RDR Books has withdrawn said appeal, regarding Judge Robert P. Patterson's September ruling in J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment's copyright infringement suit against the publisher. Judge Patterson's ruling blocked RDR's planned publication of The Harry Potter Lexicon by Steven Vander Ark.

"We are delighted that this matter is finally and favourably resolved and that J.K. Rowling's rights—and indeed the rights of all authors of creative works—have been protected," said Rowling's lawyer, Neil Blair from the Christopher Little Literary Agency, in a statement. "We are also pleased to hear that rather than continue to litigate, RDR have themselves decided to publish a different book prepared with reference to Judge Patterson's decision."

The Princess Diaries, released in 2000 by HarperCollins, and its sequels have been published in 38 countries and have sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone. HarperTeen plans a 75,000-copy first printing for Forever Princess, out in January, in which Mia writes a historical romance, agonizes about selecting a college, celebrates her 18th birthday at a celebrity-studded bash and graduates from high school.

Cabot originally envisioned Princess Diaries as a novel for adults, basing its premise on an incident from her own life. “After my father died, my mom started going out with one of my former teachers,” she says. “I was 30 at the time, but you’re never too old to be grossed out by a parent, and I started writing a story about a 30-year-old whose mother dates her daughter’s former teacher.”  

Whoopi Goldberg (l.) and Gordon Korman (r.) were joined on stage by Peter Lerangis (center), author of the third 39 Clues book, due out next March.

In advance of the publication of One False Note, children around the world submitted thousands of questions for a webcast held Monday, during which actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg interviewed Korman. (Click here to watch.) Korman fielded questions from readers, and author Peter Lerangis appeared with Goldberg and Korman during the webcast. Lerangis wrote The Sword Thief, the third installment in the 39 Clues series, which will go on sale March 3.