Steph Opitz has been named the director of Ingram's Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, succeeding Julie Schaper, who is retiring at the end of May.
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| Steph Opitz | |
Opitz was most recently director of bookstore partnerships at Bookshop.org. She earlier was founding director of Wordplay at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minn., and has held roles with major literary festivals, including the Texas Book Festival, the Brooklyn Book Festival, and the PEN World Voices Festival. She currently serves on committees for the National Book Foundation and the Authors Guild. Her book reviews and author interviews have appeared in Marie Claire, Kirkus, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Lit Hub.
Meredith Greenhouse, v-p & general manager of Ingram Publisher Services, said, "Consortium has long been a home for publishers who take creative risks and expand the cultural conversation. We are thrilled to welcome Steph, whose experience, vision, and passion for the literary world will help us continue to elevate these extraordinary presses and connect their books with readers everywhere."
Opitz said, "I'm honored to join Consortium and support the publishers who make this community so vibrant. These publishers are essential to the industry, and I'm happy to help expand their reach through IPS's powerful distribution network."
Schaper has been president of Consortium since 2001. Earlier she worked for HarperCollins, Putnam, and the now-closed Pages & Pages, Louisville, Ky. She has been a board member for the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, Rain Taxi Review of Books, and Friends of the Hennepin County Library, and is the co-editor with Steven Horwitz of Twin Cities Noir (Akashic Books) and Amplified (Melville House).