Tina Constable, Senior Vice President and Publisher for Christian Publishing for The Crown Group at Penguin Random House, has announced that Laura Barker has been promoted to Vice President, Editor in Chief, WaterBrook and Multnomah, effective immediately. Barker has been a highly valued member of the WaterBrook and Multnomah editorial staff for nearly twenty years, serving in several management roles, including Managing Editor and Editorial Director. In the past year, Barker has done an outstanding job of collaborating on acquisition strategy, and on leading the editorial team with a high level of professionalism and expertise.
In addition to her leadership skills, Barker has acquired and edited with consummate skill some of WaterBrook and Multnomah’s most important authors, including Jennie Allen, Katie Davis Majors, Kay Arthur, Liz Curtis Higgs, Randy Alcorn and Joanna Weaver, to name but a few. In her new role, Barker continues as a vital member of the WaterBrook and Multnomah management team that also includes Associate Publisher Campbell Wharton; Vice President, Director of Marketing Ginia Hairston Croker; Vice President, Director of Operations Debbie Mitchell; and Vice President, Director of Publicity Beverly Rykerd. Together, WaterBrook and Multnomah will continue the creative growth, success, and intentional list building that has defined its Christian publishing program in recent years.
WaterBrook and Multnomah are imprints of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, which is dedicated to its mission of nourishing a universal passion for reading by connecting authors and their writing with readers everywhere. The company, which employs 10,000 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and Pearson, who own 75 percent and 25 percent, respectively. With more than 250 independent imprints and brands on five continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With 15,000 new titles, and 600 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 60 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.
Contact: Beverly Rykerd (719) 440-2746 brykerd@penguinrandomhouse.com
