Cover Story : 50 Top Women in Book Publishing

Book Business honors leading female executives who are helping to shape the industry.

Ellie Berger, President of Trade Publishing, Scholastic Inc.
Berger directs the acquisition and publication of authors and properties for Scholastic, whose roster of best-selling titles includes J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, “The 39 Clues,” Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants,” Norman Bridwell’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” and “Goosebumps,” among others. Berger helped guide the complex production and manufacturing of the “Harry Potter” series, including the seventh book in the series that broke all publishing sales records when it launched.

• Tip: “Be willing to try new ideas and always keep the reader in mind. Our readers are 21st-century kids who live in a multiplatform world, who want fun and excitement, as well as the timeless quality of a good story.”

Shona Burns, Executive Director, Production Development, Chronicle Books LLC
Burns joined Chronicle in 1997, as head of its Adult Production Group. She was promoted to her current position in 2002 and oversees all production development. She was previously deputy manager for Michael Joseph/Penguin and has held a number of positions in different publishing environments, from production to sales.

• Tip: “… It is critical to understand all parts of the business to be able to make judgments … pertinent to your area of responsibility. … I also believe that cross-discipline team effort is very important; allowing collaboration and inventiveness to flourish is key.”

Gina Centrello, President and Publisher, The Random House Publishing Group
Since assuming her current position in 2003, Centrello has presided over a diverse list of fiction and nonfiction for Random House Publishing Group imprints: Random House, Ballantine, Bantam-Dell, Del Rey, The Dial Press, The Modern Library, One World and Spiegel & Grau. This year, she will lead the group in publishing new books by E. L. Doctorow, John Irving, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kathy Griffin, Jonathan Kellerman, Suze Orman, Stephen Hawking, Dean Koontz and Danielle Steel, among others. Centrello began her publishing career in 1982 as a copy editor at Pocket Books, working her way up to president in 1994.

• Tip: “It’s all about the books—publish the best authors and distribute them in an array of formats … to meet the needs of the changing marketplace.”

Francine Colaneri, Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Scholastic Inc.
Colaneri joined Scholastic in 1986. She is responsible for the purchase and management of materials and services used in manufacturing Scholastic products and promotional materials. She also has operational responsibility for forecasting within Scholastic’s multiple publishing channels and inventory management for all domestic businesses. She managed the manufacturing of the “Harry Potter” series, and was instrumental in arranging the largest-ever purchase of Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper in a single book. She also led the initiative to formalize Scholastic’s Environmental Procurement Policy. She has held positions in manufacturing and corporate purchasing at McGraw-Hill. She represents The Association of American Publishers on the Advisory Committee on Textbook Specifications and is a member of The Bookbinders’ Guild of New York. In 2008, she was inducted into the Publishing Executive Hall of Fame.

• Tip: “… No one can be successful in a vacuum. Recognize the importance and talents of the people around you.”

Judith Curr, Executive Vice President, Publisher and Founder, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster Inc.
Curr oversees all editorial and publishing activities of Simon & Schuster division Atria Books (which includes Washington Square Press, Strebor Books, Atria/Beyond Words and Atria Books Español) publisher of best-selling authors including T.D. Jakes, Shirley MacLaine, Jodi Picoult and Rhonda Byrne, author of the international best-seller “The Secret.” She has led the Atria imprint since its launch in 2002. Previously, she was president and publisher of Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books and senior vice president and publisher of Random House Inc. division Ballantine Books. Curr is on the board of the Women’s Media Group and advisory committee to Girls Learn International Inc.

• Tip: “Love what you do (not possible every day)! … You should want to know as much as possible about the people, projects and customers you work with. Be open, as new opportunities present themselves daily. Have an idea of where you are headed and keep true to your intentions. It also is a good idea to present yourself well (how you dress) each day, as you never know who you are going to meet.”

Susan Driscoll, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Books, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Wolters Kluwer Health
Driscoll has more than 25 years’ experience in academic and trade publishing and is a leader in new media and print-on-demand. She has held management positions at Holt, HarperCollins and Holtzbrinck Publishers. She is the former CEO of iUniverse, a provider of publishing services for authors. Driscoll has served as a faculty member of The New York University Summer Publishing Institute and is the moderator of the Getting Published writing group at BarnesandNoble.com.

• Tip: “… Look for opportunities to broaden your publishing perspective [in various types of positions]. … Equally important: With every move you make, determine a way to drive revenue or reduce cost—and then deliver on it. It’s a great way to learn the major drivers of the function and, of course, to build your own reputation.”

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