We offer this roundup in an effort to pull together the various transitions, expansions and acquisitions that have taken place over the last year. The information is not comprehensive, although it does aim to cover the majority of recent key shifts in the business.

A number of major changes have taken place at Random House Children's Books recently, many of them affecting the overall structure of not only the children's division but Random House Inc. The most recent of these changes, which took place on February 28, was Craig Virden's announcement that he was resigning as president and publisher of the division, which sparked a major realignment within the company. Virden hopes to get back to publishing and editing, rather than administration; Chip Gibson, formerly president of the Crown Publishing Group, has moved over to the children's division to succeed him.

The other major news from Random House came last August, when it acquired Golden Books for $84.4 million, making Random House the largest publisher of English-language children's books. More than 60 people lost their jobs in the initial merging of the two companies (Golden is now part of the newly established Random House Young Readers Group, overseen by v-p and publisher Kate Klimo) and in December several more people were let go.

The associate publisher position held by Kevin Jones was eliminated when Felicia Frazier was named v-p, director of brand management; Frazier had been director of mass market merchandising at Random House. In October, several new editorial directors were named: Courtney Silk, for coloring and activity books; Pat Brigandi, for Golden storybooks and board books; and Diane Muldrow, for Little Golden Books; while Cathy Goldsmith took over management of the combined RH/Golden art department. The editorial directors report to Amy Jarashow, who was recently named associate publisher of Golden and Disney. Starting next year, RH will use its Crawfordsville, Ind., warehouse as the national distribution center for its children's and audio books; the site was acquired as part of the Golden purchase.

The first list from Disney Books for Young Readers was published last year, after a licensing agreement was signed with Disney in 2000; Chris Angelilli is editorial director of the imprint and reports to Jarashow. Further evidence of the Golden integration had some staffers--from the editorial, art, marketing and publicity departments--move from their Seventh Ave. location into Random's 1540 Broadway offices.

Prior to the Golden purchase, editorial groups within Random House Children's Books were realigned--putting the Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group under v-p and publisher Beverly Horowitz and Random House Books for Young Readers under Klimo--and new editorial directors of those groups were announced. Joan Slattery was named editorial director of Knopf/Crown; Françoise Bui of Doubleday; Wendy Loggia editorial director of media services; and Karen Wojtyla editorial director of global projects.

A number of new initiatives were also announced, including Random View Books, an e-book publishing program, launched last fall, as were new imprints Wendy Lamb Books and David Fickling Books. Lamb had been an editor at Delacorte for 18 years, and Fickling's arrangement with Random House makes his the first bicontinental children's imprint, operating at Random House in both the U.S. and the U.K. Random House Para Niños, a Spanish-language imprint, was launched in January.

At the beginning of last year, Simon & Schuster consolidated its Pocket children's imprints into Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. The children's division then realigned all of its paperback imprints, focusing Aladdin, which absorbed titles from Pocket imprints Archway and Minstrel, on preschool through middle-grade readers and focusing Simon Pulse (which had been called Pocket Pulse) on older teen readers. In the course of the transition, Nancy Pines, former v-p and publisher of Pocket Pulse, Archway and Minstrel, was let go, and, earlier this year, Anne Greenberg, executive editor of paperback books, was laid off. Emma Dryden was promoted from executive editor to editorial director of Margaret K. McElderry Books; Marcia Marshall retired after 25 years with Atheneum; and Russell Gordon was hired as executive art director, paperback and hardcover nonfiction.

Following its sweep last year of the Caldecott and Newbery Medals, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award, this spring Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers launched its Firebird imprint, which repackages science fiction and fantasy titles in paperback and markets them to a crossover audience. Penguin Putnam purchased DK in May of last year and the two companies have been integrating, with at least 25 DK staffers losing their jobs in the process; DK moved to Penguin Putnam's offices at the beginning of this year.

A number of personnel changes have occurred at PPBFYR as well. Last June, Debra Dorfman, formerly at Scholastic Book Clubs as director of editorial administration, was hired as president and publisher of Grosset & Dunlap to replace Vivian Antonangeli; Antonangeli had been hired in the fall of 2000 to replace Jane O'Connor, who stepped down as head of the imprint at that time to become editor-at-large. Also, Mariann Donato was named v-p, director of sales and marketing--Angus Killick had been director of marketing but left in March of last year--and Gina Maolucci was named executive director of marketing and marketing design. And last fall, Dial Books for Young Readers art director Atha Tehon retired after 32 years with the company.

While Scholastic has not yet signed Harry Potter #5, the publisher did increase its list with the acquisition last year of Pfeifer-Hamilton's children's titles, as well as Barney and Little Suzy's Zoo licenses, and with the launch of its PUSH imprint this spring. Senior editor David Levithan heads PUSH, which focuses on edgy stories for the teen market by first-time authors. Scholastic also launched Barry Cunningham's British imprint The Chicken House in the U.S. last fall with 11 titles. Also last fall, Scholastic announced the launch of an e-book reader program aimed at teens. Personnel news includes the arrival of Spencer Humphrey last April, in the new position of v-p, director of mass merchandise book product; in September, Ken Geist was hired as v-p, editorial director of Cartwheel Books and Orchard Books, a new position replacing Bernette Ford at Cartwheel and Judy Wilson at Orchard (Ford is currently developing a new multicultural imprint for Scholastic, and Wilson remains with the company as a consultant); Ken Wright was hired as editorial director of Scholastic Reference, replacing Wendy Barish, who retired in January 2001; and David Krishock was hired last August as president of book fairs, succeeding David Yun (Yun is still with Scholastic as a consultant).

Earlier this month, Scholastic announced that it is purchasing Klutz Press from Corus Entertainmentfor $43 million. In May 2000, Klutz had been acquired by Nelvana Ltd., which was bought by Corus Entertainment later that year. Chris Deyo was named president, replacing John Cassidy, one of the company's original founders. Deyo was previously president of pets.com. Following the sale, Klutz will stay in Palo Alto, Calif., as a separate division of Scholastic. Deyo will continue as president, reporting to Scholastic president Barbara Marcus, and Cassidy remains with the company as chief creative officer.

Several of the major recent personnel shifts at HarperCollins Children's Books have taken place in the Greenwillow Books imprint. Longtime publisher Susan Hirschman retired last August, and executive editor Virginia Duncan was promoted to replace her. Earlier this month, Duncan hired Steve Geck, v-p and associate publisher at Simon & Schuster Children's Books, to come on board as executive editor. Art director Ava Weiss, who started with Hirschman when they began Greenwillow Books in 1974, retired at the end of 2001; Paul Zakris was named to replace her.

Elsewhere at HarperCollins, Katherine Tegen and Margaret Anastas were named editorial directors-at-large. Daisy Kline was hired as director of retail marketing. The Spanish-language imprint Rayo was launched, and the Julie Andrews Collection was announced, to debut in fall 2003.

In February, Louise Pelan, v-p and publisher of children's books at Harcourt, announced that she would retire this month after 14 years with the company; a successor has not yet been named. Senior editor Michael Stearns was made director of paperback publishing, and Christine Longmuir, formerly with Tricycle Press, became director of marketing. Earlier this month, managing editor Robin Cruise was promoted to executive managing editor, and Karen Grove returned to the company as senior editor, reporting to editorial director Allyn Johnston and working part-time from her home in Virginia. Last July Harcourt General was acquired by Reed Elsevier (also PW 's parent company), and Harcourt Trade is now one of four companies in the Reed Elsevier Education Group.

Andrea Davis Pinkney was named editorial director of Hyperion Books for Children; previously, she had been executive editor at Hyperion's Jump at the Sun imprint. Garen Thomas was hired in January as senior editor for Jump at the Sun. Angus Killick was named director, global marketing last June, and creative director Ken Geist left the company in August to go to Scholastic. Last month Sharon Hancock, who had been let go from Random House during staff reductions in January, was named marketing manager, reporting to Killick.

Hyperion launched two new lines last year: an imprint called Volo, which publishes original paperbacks, series and popular culture titles, headed by senior editor Helen Perelman; and a line of Baby Einstein books, which led to the Walt Disney Company acquiring the Baby Einstein Company in December.

In an effort to streamline operations, this spring Little, Brown is moving its children's editorial, marketing, production and design departments from Boston to New York City, where the publisher's adult division is located. Last fall, v-p and publisher John Keller stepped down; he has continued on as v-p and senior advisor and will retire this June. Keller was succeeded by David Ford, who had been president of Candlewick Press in the early 1990s, and more recently operated the G.J. Ford Bookshop on St. Simons Island, Ga.

At Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, publisher Anita Silvey and marketing director Jennifer Roberts left the company last May. Ellen Teguis was hired to replace Roberts; a new publisher has not been named. In August, HM was acquired by Vivendi Universal, putting the company under the same ownership as Larousse Kingfisher Chambers. That division came under the direction of HM trade president Wendy Strothman, who closed Kingfisher's 15-person New York City office. Four of those employees moved to HM's office in New York. Kingfisher has become an HM imprint, and HM now distributes the Larousse and Chambers lines. Penelope Chaplin was named v-p and publisher, North America, for Kingfisher Books, and Philippe Gray was named marketing manager.

Houghton's other children's division, Clarion Books, won both the Newbery and Caldecott Medals (for A Single Shard and The Three Pigs) this past January. V-p and editorial director Dinah Stevenson was named associate publisher.

Candlewick doubled its office space in 2001, hired people for 10 new positions and opened a New York City office with two employees. The company's gift line debuted in fall 2001, and expansion of the line is planned for 2002. Candlewick celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Millbrook Press celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2001; known mostly as an institutional publisher, it launched its first trade line this spring, called Roaring Brook Press. Simon Boughton, formerly head of Knopf/Crown Books for Young Readers, was named publisher of the imprint, and industry veterans Deborah Brodie and Neal Porter joined Boughton as executive editor and consulting editor, respectively. In other Millbrook news, Jeff Conrad resigned as CEO last summer; the company is now being led by an executive committee headed by chairman Howard Graham.

At Barron's, Ellen Sibley was promoted to president and publisher, while Manual H. Barron remained as CEO. New hires included Alex Holtz, formerly senior v-p of sales at Penguin Putnam, as v-p of sales and marketing; and Hugh Shiebler, formerly director of sales for Barefoot Books, as national sales manager. Barron's plans to publish a number of YA fiction titles beginning this year, and is increasing output from 99 titles in 2001 to a projected 125 this year.

Barefoot Books expanded its presence in the marketplace with the opening of a retail store, in Cambridge, Mass., last fall. Earlier in the year, the Bath, England-based publisher relocated its U.S. offices from New York City to Cambridge, and hired 14 new staff members. Barefoot president Nancy Traversy relocated from London to the U.S. to oversee the transition and future lists. Throughout last year, the company launched a number of new initiatives, including Barefoot Audio Books, a line of greeting cards and gift wrap and a collection of prints from its picture books.

North-South Books launched a new novelty imprint, Night Sky Books, last fall. It is overseen by v-p and editor-in-chief Mary-Alice Moore, who was formerly brand development consultant for the imprint. Beth Eller joined North-South in January 2001 as v-p, director of marketing; she was previously director of paperback marketing at HarperCollins.

At Abrams Books for Young Readers, both sales and personnel grew in 2001. Title output doubled from 2000 to 2001 (16 titles to 34 titles), and gross sales increased 34% during that time span. Howard Reeves was named v-p and director, gift and children's books; Becky Terhune was hired as art director, a new position for the division; and a publicity department for children's books was created, with Amy Corley as publicity director. Abrams had a major reorganization last November, which eliminated approximately 25 positions, but the children's division was not directly affected.

Winslow House (formerly Winslow Press) filed for Chapter 11 in February, laying off the majority of staff in its New York City office. Editor-in-chief Margery Cuyler had left the company last February, and is now editor-at-large at Cavendish Children's Books. Steven Chudney, formerly director of marketing and sub rights, left in September, and has opened his own agency. Senior v-p of marketing Lauren Wohl is now doing freelance consulting. Most of the books scheduled for the spring 2002 list have been placed with other publishers.

Kane/Miller has undergone several recent changes. Co-founder Sandy Miller left the company in late 2000, and its Brooklyn, N.Y., office was closed; the company is now wholly located in La Jolla, Calif. Kira Lynn was named president; Jason Stuart became sales and production manager; and co-founder Madeline Kane entered semiretirement as of last May. Title output has increased dramatically: 11 new titles in fall 2001 and eight in spring 2002, up from an average of three per season. And as of last fall, the company is no longer distributing Ediciones Ekaré, the Spanish-language publisher from Venezuela.

In 2001, Front Street Books discontinued its joint imprint with Cricket Books, which had been publishing books since spring 1999. Front Street had two National Book Award nominees last year, and reported growth in revenues of 46% while continuing to publish the same number of titles, eight to 10 per year.

Cricket Books is continuing at Carus Publishing, under the direction of Marc Aronson. Last fall, Aronson launched a new imprint, Marcato Books, focused on books that, in his words, "push at the edges of art and ideas in children's literature." Also, Louise Brueggemann, along with consultant Suzanne Glazer, replaced Maureen Mills in marketing.

InnovativeKids saw a 65% growth in sales from 2000 to 2001, and the sales department grew from one employee to four.

Peachtree is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and recently moved into a new office and warehouse in Atlanta. Lisa Banim joined the staff as senior acquisitions and development editor; previously, she was at Parachute Publishing and Random House.

A new children's editor, Rebecca Gomez, was named at Rising Moon, Northland Publishing's children's imprint, after Aimee Jackson left the company to join Northword in Minneapolis. Gomez, who is working from her New York City office, was formerly with Lodestar Books and the Trumpet Club. Northland publisher David Jenney reported an 11% increase in sales from 2000 to 2001, with the same number of titles published.

British publisher Bloomsbury crossed the pond this spring, launching Bloomsbury USA 's children's line with an initial list of 19 titles, a mix of picture books and novels. The three fulltime staff members--editorial director Victoria Wells Arms (formerly an editor at Dutton), marketing director Anna Johnson (formerly online national sales manager at Scholastic) and assistant Julie Romeis--share space with the New York offices of Bloomsbury's adult division, all overseen by publisher Alan Wherry.

Tor Books is expanding its YA line this season with the launch of Starscape, a paperback science fiction/fantasy imprint. Initially, Starscape will repackage adult Tor titles but will eventually offer original titles for the YA market. Editor Jonathan Schmidt is in charge of the imprint.

In an effort to expand its trade line, last year McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing hired Tracey Dils, a children's author, as publisher and added several new trade series to its list. The company is also expanding Peter Bedrick Books (which it acquired when the company bought the Tribune education division in 2000) from strictly institutional to more trade-oriented titles. McGraw-Hill purchased Frank Schaffer Publications last summer.

There were a number of other personnel shifts in recent months. Children's Book Press founder Harriet Rohmer stepped down as publisher last February; Ina Cumpiano came on board as editorial director. Susan Pearson, who had been editor-in-chief of Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, was hired as editor-at-large at Chronicle Children's Books; she will be working from her home in Massachusetts, and her first books for the list will appear this fall. Lori Benton left Harcourt to join Henry Holt as associate publisher and director of marketing. Charlesbridge hired Dominic Barth as senior editor, formerly with Millbrook Press; Barth replaced Harold Underdown, who moved to ipicturebooks.com as v-p, editorial. Charlesbridge also hired its first art director, Susan Sherman, formerly art director at Houghton Mifflin and creative director at Little, Brown.

Handprint Books added two staff members: executive editor Ann Tobias and editor Juliet Nolan (the press launched in fall 2000, with 24 titles published in both 2000 and in 2001, and in 2002 output is projected to rise to 30). The first list from Melanie Kroupa Books, for Farrar, Straus & Giroux, appeared in fall 2001. Lerner Publishing in Minneapolis hired two new editors last year: Marcia Marshall, who retired from Atheneum, moved to Minneapolis to join the publisher as senior editor; and Ellen Stein, who was an editor at HarperCollins, was brought on as executive editor last September and works from her home in New Jersey. Director of publicity Diane Foote left Holiday House, and was replaced by Andrea Wilk, formerly publicist at Henry Holt. Bruce Mason was named publicity director at Overlook Press. And Tricycle Press hired Laura Mancuso as publicity and marketing coordinator to replace Christine Longmuir, who moved to Harcourt.