Lisa Lucas and Dana Canedy are moving up in prominent publishing outfits in the United States.
The United States publishing industry isn’t famous for its love for Black women in higher echelons of its management structure. With pressure from without and within, there have been some small steps to ensure that this awful history is being dealt with. Here is reporting by Vulture about two Black women who are making moves in publishing in the US.
Dana Canedy to Be First Black Publisher of Simon & Schuster.
Dana Canedy has been named senior vice-president and publisher of Simon & Schuster’s namesake imprint, one of the biggest jobs in the industry. She is the third woman and first Black person to hold the role. Canedy has served as the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes since 2017, ushering in a diverse selection of work including music by Kendrick Lamar and a posthumous award to Ida B. Wells. More about the move.
Lisa Lucas takes up Publisher Role at Knopf.
Lisa Lucas, who led the U.S. National Book Foundation for the last four years, is leaving to become publisher at Pantheon and Schocken Books, two of the more prominent imprints at the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Lucas, the first Black woman to lead the National Book Foundation, will also be the first Black woman in her new role. She will also be a senior vice president at parent company Penguin Random House. The Los Angeles Times credited her with “revitalizing” the National Book Foundation and its flagship National Book Awards in a story on her move. During her tenure, the group awarded the likes of Colson Whitehead, Jesmyn Ward, Justin Phillip Reed, and Ibram X. Kendi, along with bringing back the award for translated literature in 2018. More about the move.
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