Following its purchase of Globe Pequot Press this May, Rowman & Littlefield has restructured the division, integrating most of the backoffice and sales functions, as well as reorganizing the editorial operations.
As a result of the restructuring, approximately 28 jobs were eliminated. However, CEO Jed Lyons said title count over the next several years will rise from about 300 annually to as much as 400.
Lyons said that most of the jobs eliminated were in areas that duplicated functions with R&L and its sister company NBN, such as the Globe warehouse, sales force, accounting and royalty departments. At the time of Globe purchase, Lyons said he expected to consolidate Globe's warehouse and backoffice operations by the end of the summer.
As part of the reorganization, four Lyons Press editors left the company along with one manager; managers at Falcon and the Globe Pequot imprint also left. Lyons said Katie Benoit has been promoted to editorial director of Falcon, and that Amy Lyons has also been bumped up to editorial director at Globe Pequot.
Keith Wallman has been named editorial director at Lyons Press and will be charged with “rebuilding the Lyons program in its traditional areas of strength,” which Lyons identified as fishing, outdoors, nature, history and biography. When R+L acquired Globe, Lyons said the purchase would make R+L the largest regional book publisher in the country; the new changes in the editorial operations are aimed at achieving that goal, Lyons said. To rebuild the Lyons list, Wallman will be adding new editors.
In the sales department, NBN, which is taking over distribution for the Globe list, hired four Globe in-house sales reps. No further changes are planned at the company, which will remain in Guilford, Ct. with a staff of 42.
