You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Mallory Loehr appointed president of PRH Children’s Books as Barbara Marcus steps down
Mallory Loehr, executive vice-president and publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers Group, has been appointed president of Penguin Random House (PRH) Children’s Books, to succeed Barbara Marcus.
Marcus has decided to retire and step down after 13 years in the role, with Loehr to take over leadership of PRH Children’s Books on 1st May 2025.
In an internal memo announcing Marcus’ decision to step down, PRH chief executive Nihar Malaviya described Marcus’ tenure as “robust and remarkable”, praising her “boundless curiosity, drive and leadership” which “propelled Random House Children’s Books to new heights”.
Malaviya said: “Her sharp eye on the market led to the launch of new imprints and growth in picture books, middle-grade, nonfiction, graphic novels, diverse voices and young adult romance, and to the development of franchises and brands with wide consumer appeal.”
Prior to joining Penguin Random House, Marcus was a consultant and strategic innovations adviser for media and publishing companies and for more than 20 years before that she was president of Scholastic Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution, where she was responsible for all children’s consumer book publishing and distribution in the US, and where she directed the acquisition and publication of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter titles. Additional franchises published under her leadership include Captain Underpants, The Baby-Siters Club and The Magic School Bus.
Continues…
Malaviya added: “Barbara’s unparalleled focus is matched in strength by her steadfast dedication to creating books for all readers. She has long been motivated by the belief that it matters not what a child reads, but simply that we get them reading and meet them wherever they are with a story that has the chance to turn them into lifelong readers.”
She announced the news of Mallory Loehr’s appointment in a separate memo. Malaviya said: “In her 30-plus years of enthusiastic dedication to Random House Children’s Books, Mallory has played a seminal role in the development of this business. She embodies creativity and open-mindedness and leads with an innate warmth that brings people together, making her a trusted and reliable partner to so many across the company.”
Loehr has led numerous editorial teams such as at Random House Books for Young Readers, Random House Studio, Crown, Doubleday, Labyrinth Road, Little Golden Books, Rodale Kids, Dr Seuss publishing and an extensive licensed and proprietary portfolio.
Malaviya continued: “Mallory’s natural curiosity and energy around reaching readers is evidenced by her work maintaining legacy brands together with the teams behind them, including Dr Seuss and Little Golden Books, with the notable and recent success of the Little Golden Biographies […] Mallory is uniquely committed to the people she works with – to their potential, growth and success. I am so looking forward to working with Mallory in her new capacity, and I know that the exceptional Random House Children’s Books team will continue to thrive under her leadership.”
