Contact:

Libby Reed, 615-873-2092
Libby.Reed@SimonAndSchuster.com

Nashville, TN—June 10, 2010—Jonathan Merkh, Vice President and Publisher of Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced a number of recent key staff promotions and additions.
 

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that Jennifer Willingham, previously Vice President of Publicity, has been promoted to Associate Publisher,” said Merkh. “Jennifer has proven herself a creative and dedicated professional both at Howard and over the past 16 years of her publishing career. We are delighted that she will help lead our team as Associate Publisher.”

Angie VanTassell has joined the Howard Books team as Director of Publicity. Previously Vice President of Alday Communications, VanTassell also served as Director of Marketing for W Publishing Group. Libby Reed joins the publicity team as Publicity Assistant. Ashley Earnhardt, previously Marketing Associate, has been promoted to the post of Publishing Manager.

In the editorial department of Howard Books, Holly Halverson joined the company as Senior Editor on June 7th. Halverson was most recently employed by the Hachette Book Group. Her experience in the industry spans more than fifteen years, and she has edited books by Bill Myers, Gilbert Morris, and Lisa Bevere. Additionally, Jessica Wong, Administrative Coordinator, has been promoted to Associate Editor.
 

“These promotions reflect the growth mode we’re in at Howard Books,” said Merkh. “We have a great group of talented people and look forward to even more exciting publishing, and with these changes we are better positioned to do just that.”

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Howard Publishing, a pioneer in the CBA industry, was founded in 1969 by author and composer Alton
Howard, and took the name Howard Books after it became part of Simon & Schuster in 2006. Howard has enjoyed successes with popular titles including the #1 New York Times bestseller Mistaken Identity and Rick Warren’s The Purpose of Christmas.