The New York trade division of Avalon Publishing, a subsidiary of Publishers Group Inc., will be taking up residence in new offices on Williams Street in lower Manhattan on May 21 in a move to consolidate its four imprints under one roof. Avalon vice- president Herman Graf and Neil Ortenberg will run the combined publishing company, which includes Carroll & Graf, Thunder's Mouth Press, Marlowe & Co. and Blue Moon Books.

In addition, packaging house Balliet & Fitzgerald, Marlowe & Co.'s copublishing partner for the Adrenaline book series, has joined the Avalon trade family with Will Balliet as senior editorial director and f-stop Fitzgerald as senior director of operations. Six of the Balliet & Fitzgerald staff have also joined Avalon, providing the division with in-house production capability for the first time.

"We are building the infrastructure to grow—either through in-house expansion or through acquisition," said Avalon publisher Susan Reich. Reich expects that by next year, the New York trade division will produce a single overall catalogue of titles by its different imprints, somewhat like the combined catalogue of the Avalon Travel Publishing division based in California.

"We also felt the need for a larger publicity department," said Reich, and to that end Alan Young, formerly publicity manager at Cambridge University Press, has been hired as publicity director, as was publicist Alicia Robles, also formerly of Cambridge. Young will report to Balliet, who will oversee all marketing operations.

Joining the editorial staff of Carroll & Graf is Tina Pohlman of Anchor Books, who will be senior editor specializing in literary fiction. According to Reich, the company expects to bring a new art director on board in the near future, who will report to Fitzgerald. The New York operation now has about 30 employees.

The consolidated trade division publishes 250 titles annually, the two biggest lists being Carroll & Graf's 125 titles (which includes Otto Penzler Books) and 50 from Thunder's Mouth (which includes Adrenaline Books and The Nation Books). Reich points to three titles she expects to be significant sellers this spring: The Barrens by Joyce Carol Oates (Otto Penzler Books); According to Queenie by Beryl Bainbridge and The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War by Ralph Wetterhahn (both C&G). Also in the works, Poets in Exile, a novel by the Doors' Ray Manzarek. Revenue for Avalon Publishing is expected to reach $25 million in 2001.