Cover Story : 50 Top Women in Book Publishing

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

Lynn Terhune, POD & USR Administrator, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Terhune has over 18 years of production, manufacturing and estimating experience in the industry. Over the past 12 years, she has led the Wiley charge to keep books in print through digital printing. She joined Wiley in 1995, and in 2003, led the launch of the Wiley POD Program, which now includes over 10,000 titles and has grown to become a multimillion-dollar revenue generator. She is the co-author of Wiley’s internal customer-care resource guide, “Print on Demand for Dummies” and is working with the Book Industry Study Group on “POD for Dummies” for the industry. Terhune began her publishing career at Cliggott Publishing, and held production positions at the American Bible Society and Longmeadow Press, Waldenbooks’ proprietary publishing company.

• Tip: “Invest wisely in technology to help deliver your product to your customer whenever and wherever they need it. No matter the size of your list, manage your inventory wisely through the advances in print delivery.”

Maja Thomas, Senior Vice President, Hachette Digital, Hachette Book Group
Thomas, who is also chair of Hachette Livre’s International Board for Digital Issues, works across divisions on digital strategy, investment and the pursuit of new digital publishing businesses, models and formats. Hachette Digital is the publisher of many best-selling e-books and audio books, including the “Twilight Saga” e-books, James Patterson’s “Daniel X” graphic novel iPhone application, and original audio recordings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons and speeches. Thomas edited the New York Times best-seller, “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris, and is also a Grammy award-winning audio producer and director.

• Tip: “Ask everyone what they read and listen to, how they consume books, and why they like different formats. The answers are often surprising and revealing, and they can protect you from the false assumption that your experience with books is universal.”

Megan Tingley, Senior Vice President and Publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Hachette Book Group
Tingley has published New York Times best-sellers including “The Twilight Saga” by Stephenie Meyer and “The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart, as well as the National Book Award finalists “Luna” by Julie Anne Peters and “Harlem Stomp! A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance” by Laban Carrick Hill, among others. Tingley began her publishing career at Little, Brown in 1987 and was the first children’s book editor to win the Tony Godwin Award for promising young editors in 1993. She is also the recipient of the Time Warner Andrew Heiskell Award in honor of work creating libraries and reading programs in family homeless shelters.

• Tip: “Be proactive. You can’t just wait for great manuscripts to be submitted to you—you have to go after authors, come up with your own book ideas, and make the books happen on your own.”

Kate Douglas Torrey, Director, University of North Carolina Press
Douglas Torrey has been director of the University of North Carolina Press since 1992. She currently represents university presses on the Board of Directors of the Association of American Publishers and is a past president of the Association of American University Presses.

• Tip: “Be prepared, be clear, be generous.”

Malle Vallik, Director of Digital Content and Interactivity, Internet and Digital Division, Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
Vallik’s focus is on establishing Harlequin as a leader in digital publishing for women. Her responsibilities include e-books, downloadable audio and other digital content, along with continuing to build Harlequin’s strong relationship with its consumer via social media, including eHarlequin.com’s community.

• Tip: “Your passion has to be books, and you should take every opportunity to learn every aspect of book publishing … . Volunteer for projects, and don’t be afraid to fail and learn. … Learn [about] your customer and keep him/her front of mind when making decisions about what and how to sell to him/her. Be excited about what you can accomplish every day.”

Susan Weinberg, Publisher, PublicAffairs, Perseus Books Group
Weinberg joined Perseus in 2005. Last year, PublicAffairs had four New York Times best-sellers and three New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Authors published by PublicAffairs include Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, author of “Banker to the Poor and Creating A World Without Poverty,” and Scott McClellan, author of the No. 1 New York Times best-seller “What Happened.” Weinberg came to Perseus from HarperCollins Publishers, where, prior to leading the HarperCollins imprint, she directed the Harper Perennial trade paperback program. She published many New York Times best-sellers and critically acclaimed books, including: “Chain of Command” by Seymour Hersh, “Crimes Against Nature” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and “Everything Is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer.

• Tip: “Publish books for which you have a genuine enthusiasm and vision; avoid publishing just what you think ‘they’ want to read, whoever ‘they’ are.”

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