Some Good Publishing News for a Change

If you’re like me, you have become rather depressed by the drip, drip of bad news from the publishing sector. These last 18 months have been rough, although we are now seeing improvements in the worldwide economy, and the hyped release today of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol is likely to goad book sales, in general. My optimism was boosted further this morning, when I received this press release from my dear colleague, Hector DeJean at Minotaur Books:

Andrew Martin, Publisher, Minotaur Books, and George Witte, Editor-in-Chief, St. Martin’s Press, are pleased to announce that Kelley Ragland has been named Editorial Director, Minotaur Books.

In the past sixteen years Kelley has become one of St. Martin’s most dedicated practitioners and advocates of the mystery and crime fiction trade, creating an impressive standing and profile. She was heavily involved with the creation and launch of St. Martin’s Minotaur ten years ago in 1999, and her subsequent devotion to the industry of crime fiction and mysteries has helped make Minotaur a market leader in the field.

Kelley began at St. Martin’s in 1993 as an editorial assistant, and since that time has gone on to acquire and edit some of Minotaur’s most dependable and promising authors including: Chelsea Cain, Nancy Martin, Lou Manfredo, David Rosenfelt, Olen Steinhauer, Theresa Schwegel, and Dana Stabenow--Minotaur’s first New York Times bestselling author. She also handles Jeffrey Archer for St. Martin’s Press.

Let’s hope Ragland will find some more gems for those of us devoted to the crime/mystery/thriller genre. Those books are great diversions from the world’s present struggles.