At Diversion Books: New Publisher, New Division

Jamie Levine

Effective January 4, Jaime Levine will become publisher of Diversion Books. She was formerly an executive editor at Grand Central Publishing and at Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press.

At the same time, Diversion's v-p and editorial director Mary Cummings is becoming v-p and director of business development. She will work closely with Levine and continue to acquire for Diversion Books, but will primarily focus on leading a new division, Diversion Distribution Services, which includes the EverAfter Romance brand, providing self-published authors with access to traditional print sales and distribution.

At Grand Central, in the science fiction and fantasy imprint, Levine's list included Octavia Butler, Jacqueline Carey, and David and Leigh Eddings. Later, she moved into mainstream commercial fiction with an emphasis on bestselling thriller franchises including the joint novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child as well as the estate of Robert Ludlum.

Levine commented: "I've been deeply impressed with Diversion's rapid growth from intelligent e-book start-up to publisher of compelling original books in all formats. Their marriage of digital and print is key. I'm excited to expand the breadth and depth of what Diversion Books offers its authors and readers." Founded in 2010, the company publishes about 60 titles a year and has a backlist of 1,000 titles.

Scott Waxman, Diversion CEO and co-founder, commented: "Jaime is the right person to run with what we have built at Diversion Books. What began as a way to maximize digital rights for backlist has evolved into a full-fledged publisher in all formats, looking for great books and publishing them to as wide an audience as possible. While we continue to innovate in digital, we place an emphasis on the best that traditional publishing can offer, and Jaime gives us that."

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