12 Jan 2011 23:16:08
Author-editor-producer Susan Lehman has been forced out as publisher of Twelve after taking over in September. Twelve is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, which announced Tuesday in an company e-mail shared with The Associated Press that associate publisher Cary Goldstein will replace Lehman effective immediately.
"Susan Lehman is an extremely insightful, creative and talented editor," Grand Central executive vice president and publisher Jamie Raab said in the e-mail. "Unfortunately, the role of publisher just wasn't the perfect fit."
Lehman had yet to acquire any new books for Twelve, designed to release just 12 books a year, one every month. But Raab told the AP that obtaining new books was not a factor in her decision and otherwise declined to offer a specific reason beyond saying that being a publisher is "an all-encompassing job" that can take years to learn.
"Had I had more time, I'm certain I could have failed on my own demerits," Lehman wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "But 12 weeks isn't enough time to do even that. It's a wonderful imprint. I had lined up great non-fiction writers for terrific books I hope will find their way into print. Cary Goldstein has a great job and I wish him well."
Lehman has worked in a variety of fields, from editing at Riverhead Books to producing television documentaries.
Jonathan Karp started Twelve in 2005, but left in June to head the flagship trade imprint of Simon & Schuster. Twelve's best-sellers include Kennedy's "True Compass," Hitchens' "Hitch-22" and Sebastian Junger's "War."
Raab's e-mail Tuesday also disclosed that Twelve recently reached a two-book deal with Hitchens, who was diagnosed in June with cancer of the esophagus. The first book, "Arguably," is a collection of essays scheduled for September. The second, currently untitled, will be a "book-length meditation on malady and mortality."
"Susan Lehman is an extremely insightful, creative and talented editor," Grand Central executive vice president and publisher Jamie Raab said in the e-mail. "Unfortunately, the role of publisher just wasn't the perfect fit."
Lehman had yet to acquire any new books for Twelve, designed to release just 12 books a year, one every month. But Raab told the AP that obtaining new books was not a factor in her decision and otherwise declined to offer a specific reason beyond saying that being a publisher is "an all-encompassing job" that can take years to learn.
"Had I had more time, I'm certain I could have failed on my own demerits," Lehman wrote in an e-mail to the AP. "But 12 weeks isn't enough time to do even that. It's a wonderful imprint. I had lined up great non-fiction writers for terrific books I hope will find their way into print. Cary Goldstein has a great job and I wish him well."
Lehman has worked in a variety of fields, from editing at Riverhead Books to producing television documentaries.
Jonathan Karp started Twelve in 2005, but left in June to head the flagship trade imprint of Simon & Schuster. Twelve's best-sellers include Kennedy's "True Compass," Hitchens' "Hitch-22" and Sebastian Junger's "War."
Raab's e-mail Tuesday also disclosed that Twelve recently reached a two-book deal with Hitchens, who was diagnosed in June with cancer of the esophagus. The first book, "Arguably," is a collection of essays scheduled for September. The second, currently untitled, will be a "book-length meditation on malady and mortality."
