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    Cary Goldstein, New Publisher of Twelve

    By Jennifer 8. Lee | January 11, 2011

    Grand Central Publishing today abruptly announced that Cary Goldstein, publicist extraordinaire and deputy publisher, is going to take over as publisher of Twelve, effective immediately (their website changed quickly enough).
    This is covered by The New York Times, the Associated Press, Publishers Weekly. Cary recently signed a two-book deal with Christopher Hitchens, who was diagnosed with esophagus cancer — which is a real coup as Hitchens did not move over to Simon & Schuster with Jon Karp (awesome editor). Hitchens, of course, gave Twelve its first long-running number one New York Times best seller, God is not Great.

    Here is the email we got

    Dear Friends:

    I am writing to let you know about changes being made in the management of Twelve. Susan Lehman will be leaving the imprint and Cary Goldstein will be taking over the role of Publisher. While I realize that change is hard, and that there have certainly been significant changes at Twelve over the past months, the elevation of Cary to Publisher speaks to the continuity of the imprint, as Cary has been a pillar from the start. More than that, Cary has been the mastermind behind many of Twelve’s most notable successes, and is fully committed (passionate would be an even more apt word) to the imprint’s unique publishing philosophy, and its success.

    Details are included in the attached press release.

    All best,

    Jamie Raab

    And the attached press release:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Sophie Cottrell
    212-364-1281 / Sophie.cottrell@hbgusa.com

    CARY GOLDSTEIN NAMED PUBLISHER OF TWELVE

    (January 11, 2011 / New York) – Jamie Raab, EVP and Publisher of Grand Central Publishing, announced today that Cary Goldstein will be assuming the position of Publisher of Twelve, replacing Susan Lehman.

    As Associate Publisher of Twelve, Goldstein has been responsible for orchestrating the imprint’s publicity strategies, and acquiring and editing works of fiction and nonfiction. “Cary has been part of Twelve since its inception, and has truly been one of the pillars of the imprint,” said Raab. “He’s a brilliant marketing strategist, a very fine editor with a keen eye for acquisitions, and, most importantly, has a real vision for the future of Twelve. He created enormously successful campaigns for Ted Kennedy’s TRUE COMPASS and Sebastian Junger’s WAR – and these are just two of many. Cary’s commitment to Twelve’s books and authors is extraordinary, and I look forward to seeing him thrive in his new role as he shapes Twelve’s publishing program and guides the imprint to continued success and acclaim.”

    “Susan Lehman is an extremely insightful, creative and talented editor,” Raab said. “Unfortunately, the role of Publisher just wasn’t the perfect fit.”

    Twelve was launched in 2007 with a unique approach – to publish no more than one book per month – and the results of this intense focus have been remarkable: Twelve has published 43 titles, 20 of which have been New York Times bestsellers, including god is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens and True Compass by the late Senator Ted Kennedy (both of which reached the #1 slot), and Christopher Buckley’s novel Boomsday. Other recent bestsellers include the aforementioned War by Sebastian Junger, as well as Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, and The Sherlockian by Graham Moore.

    At Twelve Goldstein has edited Jess Winfield’s My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs and Shakespeare, a New York Times Book Review “Editor’s Choice”; Jerry Weintraub’s memoir When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead, which was a New York Times bestseller; and Benjamin Hale’s forthcoming debut novel The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and IndieNext pick for February 2011. Most recently, Goldstein negotiated a two-book deal with Christopher Hitchens for a collection of essays entitled Arguably, scheduled for publication in September 2011, and a book-length meditation on “malady and mortality,” chronicling Hitchens’ ongoing ordeal with esophageal cancer.

    Prior to joining Twelve in July 2006, Goldstein was the Associate Director of Publicity and Director of Web Publicity at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, where he began his career as an intern in 1996. He has also been senior publicist at Basic Books, Director of National Poetry Month for The Academy of American Poets, and buyer and features editor responsible for Fiction, Literature, and Poetry at BarnesandNoble.com.

    Goldstein’s role is effective immediately. New additions to Twelve’s staff will be announced shortly.

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