Mara Anastas Named Publisher of Aladdin Books & Simon Pulse
NEW YORK, NY — Mara Anastas has been named Publisher of Aladdin Books and Simon Pulse it was announced today by Jon Anderson, President of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, to whom Ms. Anastas will report. The appointment is effective April 7th.
Ms. Anastas was most recently Deputy Publisher of the Aladdin Books, Simon Pulse, Little Simon, and Simon Spotlight imprints of the Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, a position she has held since 2008 . Prior to that she was Vice President of Sales and Subsidiary Rights for Children’s Publishing, and has also served in a variety of other sales and publishing roles within Simon & Schuster and at Scholastic and HarperCollins.
“The drive and devotion Mara has shown in all her previous roles make her more
than ready and entirely suited to take on this new responsibility,” said Jon Anderson. “We look forward to Mara and the Aladdin Books and Simon Pulse teams building on their current successes like Rachel Renée Russell’s Dork Diaries and Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds, and also to developing exciting new projects and properties like Brandon Mull’s Five Kingdoms series, Scott Westerfeld’s mind-bending novel Afterworlds, and 2015’s Galactic Hot Dogs based on the popular Poptropica property.”
Ms. Anastas succeeds Bethany Buck, who is leaving the company. “Under
Bethany, who has led Aladdin Books and Simon Pulse since 2008, these two vital
imprints have evolved and grown in both scope and ambition. We thank Bethany for her contributions to our success to date,” said Jon Anderson.
In her role as Deputy Publisher, Ms. Anastas has been instrumental in building the
blockbuster series Dork Diaries, in launching homegrown series successes such as
Cupcake Diaries, Creepover, Heidi Heckelbeck, and Captain Awesome, and in
reinvigorating the company’s Ready-to-Read publishing for beginning readers.
“Simon Pulse and Aladdin Books have an incredibly talented team of editors,
designers and publishing professionals that have made them industry-leading children’s publishing imprints” said Ms. Anastas. “I could not be more thrilled at the prospect of working with them in this new role, together with the many world-class authors we publish, to develop new and exciting content for both of these well-established imprints.”
ABOUT SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN’S PUBLISHING
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, one of the leading children’s book publishers in the world, is comprised of the following imprints: Aladdin, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Beach Lane Books, Libros para niños, Little Simon®, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Paula Wiseman Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Simon Pulse, and Simon Spotlight®. While maintaining an extensive award-winning backlist, the division continues to publish acclaimed and bestselling books for children of all ages. In addition to numerous Caldecott, Newbery, and National Book Award winners, Simon & Schuster publishes such high-profile properties and series as Eloise, Olivia, Raggedy Ann & Andy™, Henry & Mudge®, The Hardy Boys®, Nancy Drew®, the Dork Diaries series, the Mortal Instruments series, Mike the Knight, and the original Cupcake Diaries and Creepover series. For more information about Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.
Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.
