Ellie Berger, a steadfast presence at Scholastic for 40 years, will step down as president of Scholastic Trade Publishing and EVP of the company on June 11.
Berger began at Scholastic in 1985 as an associate managing editor and was named publisher of the trade division in 2006. In 2007 she was promoted to president of the group, succeeding Lisa Holton. In announcing her promotion, then Scholastic chairman Dick Robinson observed that Berger is “universally respected throughout the industry as the person at Scholastic who makes things happen.”
Berger was a key member of the trade group as the unit rode the success of the Harry Potter series to build one of the industry’s largest trade book publishers. The group had sales of $349 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024. Scholastic regularly finishes atop PW’s annual ranking of children’s bestselling fiction titles. Berger was involved in the production and rollout of every Potter title, including the final volume, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in 2007.
In a note to employees announcing Berger’s departure, Scholastic chair Iole Lucchese and president and CEO Peter Warwick emphasized that Berger built the trade group well beyond the Potter franchise. She was responsible for the development of another Scholastic powerhouse franchise, The Hunger Games, and was instrumental in establishing the graphic novel category for young readers. In addition, Berger helped build the foundation for Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club series.
Lucchese and Warwick also credited Berger with keeping some of Scholastic’s best-known brands such as The Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, Clifford, Animorphs, and I Spy extremely popular, while also looking for new formats such as The 39 Clues, a multiplatform series that became a bestseller.
“We are all deeply grateful for Ellie’s many years of leadership and her proven ability to increase the growth and performance of the company,” Lucchese and Warwick wrote. ”Please join us in thanking Ellie and wishing her the very best.”
“As a young child, my parents instilled in me a love of reading and a deep appreciation for the world of children’s books;” Berger said in a statement.” I’m honored to have been a part of the publishing industry at Scholastic, and I thank everyone who has shared this journey with me.”
Scholastic’s plans for replacing Berger will be announced shortly.
