Over the past year, Jamie Raab and Deb Futter have been able to create what they call a dream publishing home. Celadon Books, their new division at Macmillan, focuses on a small list of highly curated books with both commercial appeal and literary merit. The mission, they say, is to publish books they genuinely love and believe in, books that readers will finish and say, "That was time well spent."
For the two industry veterans, who've worked at publishing houses with large lists and where they worried about titles falling through the cracks, they now can publish books that are engaging, thought-provoking and best of their kind, and they can wholeheartedly champion those titles.
Raab, who was formerly President and Publisher of Grand Central and worked 30 years there and at its predecessor, Warner Books, is President and Publisher of Celadon Books. Futter, who was V-P and Editor-in-Chief of hardcovers for Grand Central and Publisher of Twelve, is Senior V-P and Co-Publisher at Celadon Books.
The pair have received full backing from Macmillan CEO John Sargent and Macmillan Publishers President Don Weisberg, who have said that they want to grow Macmillan by hiring talented people like Raab and Futter. As Weisberg put it: "I had long admired Jamie and Deb from up close and afar and was excited to have the opportunity to work with them, which aligned with Macmillan's vision for expanding."
The pair say in response: "The support they've given us, and the freedom to turn our publishing dream into reality, have been invigorating. We're having fun and we are determined to repay the faith the Macmillan team has put into Celadon by publishing some wonderful books very successfully."
In the year since founding Celadon Books, they've put together a striking program. They've signed some 40 titles, are publishing 20-24 books a year, both fiction and nonfiction, and will launch the first list early next year. (See a listing below.)
A Special Note to Booksellers and Librarians
Both Raab and Futter note that their "childhoods were steeped in use of their public libraries" and that Futter's mother was a librarian for 50 years. Both grew up taking out a stack of books each week. They say, "We want both booksellers and librarians to know that we believe the best way to get a feel for our list is to read our books, and we're happy to send you early copies. We also appreciate, and listen carefully to feedback, so would love to hear back from booksellers and librarians."