Maureen Mahon Egen, president and chief operating officer of Warner Books, has been named president of the entire Time Warner Trade Publishing group. In her new role, Egen will oversee the day-to-day operations of all TW trade imprints -- Warner Books; Little, Brown Adult; Little, Brown Children's; Bulfinch; Time Warner Audio; and Time Warner Electronic Publishing.
Egen will continue to report to Larry Kirshbaum, TW trade chairman, who will devote more of his time to strategy and to dealing with the massive changes that are taking place within the industry. "This business has become so complicated, we need to look out over the horizon and try to make sense of what these changes mean," Kirshbaum told PW, noting that he expects that change will "continue to be the hallmark of the publishing business."
A new publisher for Warner, which sources said will come from within the Warner family, is expected to be announced next week.
While Egen will look to improve TW's efficiencies through a better coordination of its publishing processes, she said that she is a "strong believer in each imprint maintaining its creative identity," adding, "We will keep Little, Brown and Warner as far apart as we can. We don't want them to be the same type of publisher." She d s expect Little, Brown and Warner to do more hard/soft deals together and hopes that the group can become more "assertive" in looking for new publishing opportunities.
According to Kirshbaum, Time Warner Inc. executives "fully support" the book group; he has no mandate to significantly expand the company through a major acquisition. "I think we're a good size. We're big enough to have some clout in the marketplace, but small enough to move quickly to take advantage of new opportunities." He noted that the immediate future for the group "will be as much about controlling costs, including [author] acquisitions, as about growing revenues. We have to be more disciplined." Kirshbaum said he hopes TW can improve its distribution efficiency, develop better marketing and improve publicity for books that are sold through nontraditional markets.
The trade group currently publishes approximately 200 hardcovers annually, a figure Kirshbaum indicated he would like to see reduced by 20%-25% over the next few years. "This won't happen right away, and we're not planning any massive cutbacks, but we have to develop a smaller matrix," Kirshbaum told PW. Egen added that a reduction in the list would allow TW to "focus more on every title," adding that the trade group will continue to publish first novels, to take risks on different books and to nurture authors. The company will also look to see if it is missing any publishing opportunities, Egen said.The book group is engaged in more synergistic projects with other parts of the Time Warner empire than ever. Kirshbaum said TW chairman Gerald Levin "has made it clear that books are an important part of the corporate fabric" and that he realizes the book group helps bring talent into the company. Moreover, while the corporation would like to see the book unit improve its margins, "They are realistic. They know what the publishing business can do." For the full year, Kirshbaum estimated that the trade group sales will show a "single-digit" increase.
Kirshbaum acknowledged that the company has made an effort to promote the Time Warner Trade Publishing name, explaining that the Time Warner brand "has a certain value when dealing with large customers, entertainment companies and with competitors." He stressed, however, that he has "great respect" for the company's imprints, and that he believes it is important the "people at Little, Brown identify with Little, Brown and that those at Warner feel they are part of Warner."
