In a significant reshuffle, Penguin Random House, America’s largest publisher, announced on Monday that the publishers of two of its most prestigious literary publishers have been laid off. .
The departure of Reagan Arthurpublisher of Alfred A. Knopf, and Lisa Lucaspublisher of Pantheon and Schocken, came as a surprise to many within the company — including, soundfor Lucas.
Lucas posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she learned she was fired at 9:30 a.m. Monday. “I kind of regret spending the weekend working,” she wrote.
In a memo to employees, Maya Mavjee, president and publisher of Knopf Doubleday, acknowledged the news may make many people nervous, but noted that restructuring the footprint is “necessary.” for our future development.”
Mavjee said in the memo that Pantheon’s editorial department will now report to Doubleday, while Knopf will be led by Jordan Pavlin, Knopf’s editor-in-chief who would become its publisher, took on two roles. Pavlin has edited bestselling and award-winning authors including Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi and Maggie O’Farrell.
A person familiar with the decision, who requested anonymity to share details about the restructuring, said the departures were part of a cost-saving measure. No publisher will replace Lucas at Pantheon, this person said.
The departure of the two prominent publishers comes at a time when Penguin Random House and other major publishers are facing financial challenges, with rising supply chain costs and print sales slow. Publisher sales were flat in the first quarter of 2024, according to a recent report from the Association of American Publishers.
The past two years have been a particularly tumultuous time at Penguin Random House.
The company has struggled to maintain its dominance in the industry after its attempt to buy rival Simon & Schuster was blocked on antitrust grounds, a loss that cost the company a termination fee. 200 million USD. Then, Markus Dohle, then-chief executive of Penguin Random House, resigned, followed shortly by the company’s American chief executive, Madeline McIntosh.
Its new CEO, Nihar Malaviya, has moved to cut costs by downsizing and restructuring, while also growing by acquiring smaller publishing companies. Last year, the company offered voluntary buyouts to longtime employees and laid off about 60 people.
Lucas and Arthur are both high-profile employees brought into the company in recent years. Lucas, the first Black publisher at the Pantheon in its 80-year history, was hired in 2020 from the National Book Foundation, where she was the organization’s executive director. During her time at Penguin Random House, she published titles including “Chain-Gang All Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, a National Book Award finalist, and signed published two books with LeVar Burton.
Arthur, who had been publisher of Little, Brown, took over as publisher of Knopf in 2020, shortly after. Sonny Mehta’s death, who has led the imprint for more than three decades. At Knopf, she oversaw the publication of Cormac McCarthy’s last two novels and Gabrielle Zevin’s bestseller “Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” and personally edited the bestsellers. includes Bono’s memoirs, “Surrender” and “Lessons.” novel by Ian McEwan.
“What an honor to finally work in publishing for a short time!!” Lucas wrote on Monday afternoon X. “As for what happens next: Who knows! Free agency! I suppose I’ll think about that tomorrow?”
