2019-09-09 Publishers Weekly

HONOREES

20 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

JOSH REDLICH

Senior publicist

Random House Children’s Books, New York City

D

ominique Cimina, RHCB’s v-p, executive director,

publicity and corporate communications, reports that

since joining her team in June 2016, she has received

praise from authors, illustrators, colleagues, teammates,

editors, and agents regularly for Redlich’s “performance and truly

ardent commitment.” Redlich has spearheaded the campaigns for

Christopher Paolini’s The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, the critically

acclaimed release Stronger,

Faster, More Beautiful by

Arwen Elys Dayton, and the

bestseller Aurora Rising by Jay

Kristoff and Amie Kaufman,

published in May. He also pro-

vides “smart support,” Cimina

says, on high-profile brands,

including Magic Tree House,

Sesame Street, and Netflix’s

Stranger Things, in addition to overseeing the programming for the

various conventions that happen year-round. Outside of the office,

Redlich has leadership roles on multiple committees. He is currently

chair of the Young to Publishing Group, overseeing a group of around

a dozen individuals from across AAP member houses, and he cochairs

the planning committee of the Publishers Publicity Association.

CLARE REETH

Director, literary affairs

Fox 2000 and 20th Century Fox/Disney, Los Angeles

C

lare Reeth is an exemplary book-to-film scout,”

Haley Hamilton, a colleague at Fox, says. Reeth

began her career as an intern at Writers House, but

was quickly snapped up by Drew Reed and his team

at Fox, where she has specialized in comic book adaptations and

young adult literature for the past four years. According to

Hamilton, Reeth has been instrumental in finding and assessing

strong IP for Fox studios and has

helped create positive relationships

between publishing and the film/

TV world. “She’s a bright and shiny

scouting star who makes toggling

successfully between two industries

look easy as lemon pie,” Hamilton

says, adding, “Bonus points are due

for Reeth being part of a team that

respects authors while being able to

help them, their agents, and their

publishers succeed.”

JENNIFER POWELL

Director of rights and co-editions

Scholastic Inc., New York City

I

n just over three years, Powell
has increased her department’s
revenue by 82% and profits by
58%. Powell attributes much
of the growth (which in the prior 15
years was between 2% and 5%) to
her work establishing co-editions as
a lucrative business model. In addition to working with coagents,
her team now works directly on a co-edition basis for picture, nov-
elty, and illustrated licensed books in major markets. “This ensures
the highest possible production value to all international editions,”
she explains, “guaranteeing the author/illustrator royalties up-
front, and gaining access to markets which might otherwise not be
able to afford to publish high-end picture, novelty, or illustrated
licensed books.” Among her successes are Harry Potter co-editions
(over $2 million in revenue), Klutz Lego co-editions (over $1.5
million), Dog Man translations (32 languages sold), Riverdale
translations (12 languages sold), and Graphix translations (a 44%
increase in sales). Powell has encouraged her team to travel far and
wide for sales trips and to attend book fairs from Frankfurt to
Guadalajara, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing, and beyond.

“

AMELIA POSSANZA

Assistant director of publicity

Flatiron, New York City

A

melia Possanza possesses

the covetable qualities

that make a first-rate

book publicist: excellent

communication, superb leadership,

strong writing skills, and an unflappable devotion and dedication

to her colleagues and authors that lead to proven sales and big

cultural conversations,” her former colleague Jessica Yu says.

Among Possanza’s roster of authors are Melinda Gates, Sarah

Baker, Laurie Frankel, Jane Harper, Sarah Kendzior, and Shobha

Rao. And while a bold-face name like Gates may be easy to win

attention for, it’s not for a newish true-crime writer like Jane

Harper, for whom Possanza won a feature in the New York Times,

publicity’s holy grail. Her cheerleading for books doesn’t stop at

the office—she reviews books and writes for the Rumpus, Electric

Literature, the Washington Post, and Buzzfeed. Yu adds, “Her lead-

ership and steadfast commitment to teamwork is demonstrated

in her ability to successfully build relationships with her col-

leagues, authors, booksellers, and reviewers,” which was recently

on display at BookExpo, when she spoke on a panel to discuss how

Macmillan can further build its relationships with booksellers.

“

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