Simon & Schuster Names Priscilla Painton Editor in Chief

New York, N.Y., January 16, 2008 -- Priscilla Painton, has been named Editor in Chief of the Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint. Ms. Painton, who was most recently Deputy Managing Editor of Time Magazine, will begin her new position on March 3rd. Her appointment was announced by David Rosenthal, Executive Vice President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster imprint.

"Priscilla's high-level experience, her sense of story and authorial contacts will make her a perfect fit for Simon & Schuster," said David Rosenthal. "She will add new strengths to what is already the broadest editorial group in the business."

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Priscilla Painton commented: "After a lifetime in journalism, it is a grand opportunity to enter the world of book publishing," she said. "I look forward to joining one of the truly great and legendary imprints in the publishing business and collaborating with the talented editorial staff on books that will be read not just today, but for a lifetime."

Simon & Schuster Editorial Director Alice Mayhew added, "We are enormously pleased to welcome an editor of Priscilla's talent to S&S. We look forward to counting on her wide-ranging perspective and experience, and her insight."

Ms. Painton joined Time in 1989 as a reporter and went on to edit every section of the magazine. She served longest as Time's Nation editor responsible for all political and domestic news. In that role she oversaw Time's investigation of the campaign finance scandals, which won a prestigious Goldsmith Investigative Journalism Prize. She also served as Time's executive editor before being appointed deputy managing editor, which made her the highest ranking woman editor ever in the history of the magazine.

In 2007, the Simon & Schuster imprint had twenty-three titles on the printed New York Times bestseller list. Bestselling titles for the year included I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark, Einstein by Walter Isaacson, The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene, Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen, The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver, Play Dirty by Sandra Brown, The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, and Jim Cramer's Mad Money by James J. Cramer.

Founded in 1924, the Simon & Schuster trade imprint is one of the most venerated brand names in the world of publishing, and is widely known as a powerhouse publisher of general fiction and nonfiction for readers of all tastes. Among the well-known and influential nonfiction authors who call Simon & Schuster home are Pulitzer Prize winners David McCullough, Taylor Branch, and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and journalist Bob Woodward. Simon & Schuster is also the publisher of bestselling novelist Mary Higgins Clark, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Larry McMurtry, President Jimmy Carter, Bob Dylan, and health and fitness expert Bob Greene.

Prior to joining Time, Ms. Painton worked for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, where she was a political and projects reporter. She has also worked at The Washington Post and The Berkshire Eagle, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Ms. Painton has a B.A. in history from Mount Holyoke College. Born in Rome and raised in Paris -- she is fluent in French -- she now lives in New York and has two teenagers.

Source: Simon & Schuster