Press Release: Shelf Awareness Welcomes a New Director of Business Development
SEATTLE—December 9, 2015—Shelf Awareness, the e-newsletter company that produces Shelf Awareness Pro and Shelf Awareness for Readers, has hired Matt Baldacci as Director of Business Development.
"I am very happy to be joining the Shelf and to have the opportunity to help bring books and readers together," Matt said. "Throughout my career, I have focused on bringing books to readers and have both admired and used all that the Shelf has to offer to accomplish my marketing objectives. Now, I will be at the forefront of many new initiatives the Shelf team is creating, and I am eager to help build on the success the team has already enjoyed."
Baldacci was most recently Vice President of Trade Marketing at Scholastic Inc. Before taking on that responsibility, Baldacci spent 16 years at St. Martin’s Press, filling a variety of marketing and promotional roles, including as the Vice President, Associate Publisher/Marketing & Sales Operations.
Matt Baldacci
"We have worked with Matt since the beginning of Shelf Awareness, when he was at St. Martin's Press, which has grown to become one of our key advertising partners," Jenn Risko, publisher and cofounder of Shelf Awareness, said. "He knows first-hand the influence and effectiveness of our content and products, and he may even know more publishing folks than we do!"
As Director of Business Development, Baldacci will be based on the east coast, to be close to the major publishing houses and Shelf Awareness’ advertisers. His main focus will be driving new and existing business with current and potential advertisers. He will be instrumental in Shelf Awareness’ ongoing efforts to grow, and assist with strategic initiatives that will improve how the company serves its clients, subscribers and partners.
Baldacci began his career in publishing in 1989 at Simon & Schuster, working in advertising and promotions, before completing his MBA in marketing and information technology at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He joined DK Publishing as Director, Trade Marketing in 1995. In 1998, Baldacci moved to St. Martin’s Press where he built the hardcover marketing organization and held several marketing and operations roles.
“Matt’s history with the publishing industry is as much about what a talented and creative marketer he is as it shows his ongoing love of reading, and that is central to why we feel he is such a wonderful addition to our team,” John Mutter, editor-in-chief and cofounder, said.
About Shelf Awareness
Shelf Awareness offers two newsletters focused on providing information about books and the bookselling industry.
Shelf Awareness Pro provides essential, topical information about the bookselling and publishing industry. Appearing every business day, Pro is read by more than 35,000 industry professionals, librarians and booksellers.
Shelf Awareness for Readers appears Tuesdays and Fridays and helps readers discover the best 25 books published each week, learn about new and established authors, read about upcoming releases and keep up to date on exciting book news. With more than 370,000 subscribers, Shelf for Readers reaches a wide audience and continues to grow.
In addition, Shelf Awareness provides more than 100 independent bookstores with their own, customized newsletter through our Bookstore Edition program.
