After founding Hudson Street Press, a Penguin imprint that operates as part of Viking, Laureen Rowland is moving on. In a statement released earlier this morning, Viking publisher Clare Ferraro announced that Rowland – whose resignation is attributed to a family move to New England, following her husband’s job relocation, according to Publishers Lunch – will be replaced by Luke Dempsey. At his previous editorial stint at Crown, Dempsey’s authors included Max Brooks, Jerry Oppenheimer, George Pendle & Alice Cooper. “Hudson Street Press has had an amazing year under Laureen’s guidance, most particularly with its first national bestseller by John O’Hurley; we will miss her and wish her and her family the best,” said Ferraro.
Dempsey, who starts at Hudson Street Press on January 29, feels he’s “really lucky to be going there just as [the imprint] really begins to take off,” he said earlier today by email. “Laureen did a fabulous job of establishing the imprint; and I’m looking forward to building on what she started: simply put, finding authors who are promotable and passionate about their subjects and making the books just as good as they can be (I believe strongly that good books find lots of eager readers). I’ve always loved finding projects that mix both elements — great on the stump, great on the page.”