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Publisher Simon & Schuster announced a major restructuring plan that will bring together all its imprints into four groups. As part of the new plan, Free Press will be folded into the Simon & Schuster group and editors have been laid off. Free Press publisher Martha Levin and Free Press editor-in-chief Dominick Anfuso are out, as are editors Webster Younce, Emily Luce and Alessandra Bastagli.
"Unfortunately, as result of this reorganization, several positions within the group have been eliminated," S&S publisher Jonathan Karp wrote in an internal email about the reorganization. "On behalf of everyone who has worked with them, I want to thank our departing colleagues for their efforts on behalf of our authors and contributions to our success."
The news came as a a surprise to those at the imprint.
"Across the board, the first response to the news was of heartfelt solidarity and regret," emailed Ms. Bastagli. "Followed by a healthy dose of soul-searching as we all try to figure out what’s next."
Free Press books will continue to be published under the imprint's name and Suzanne Donahue has been named the associate publisher of Free Press.
"In the coming weeks, we will be working to integrate approximately 100 Free Press authors with works-in-progress into the larger Simon & Schuster group, while also introducing ourselves to backlist authors," wrote Mr. Karp.
