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Cynthia Good to leave Penguin after 20 years

Penguin Canada president Ed Carson says he’s keeping an open mind when looking for a replacement for publisher Cynthia Good, who will leave the company next month. “It might be someone within the company, or another publisher. It might even involve someone outside publishing,” says Carson.

Good, who will remain at Penguin until Feb. 7, will not be involved in the search for a replacement. Carson says there is no set timeline for putting a new publisher in place. “If it takes longer, we’ll take time to make sure we’ve got the ideal publisher.”

In the meantime, Carson will serve as acting publisher, working with editorial directors Diane Turbide and Andrea Crozier. Though much of Carson’s background has been in editorial, he notes that his new role at Penguin will be strictly temporary: “This is not my entry back into being publisher.” He will not comment on internal interest in Good’s job, but said yesterday, “I’ve certainly had my share of calls from outside the company today.”

Good’s surprise departure was announced last Friday, although she told Inside Report yesterday that she’s been considering a career change since early last year. “As I realized I was approaching my 20th anniversary at Penguin, I started to think about whether I wanted to do something else with my life.” That may include teaching, broadcasting, government, or non-profit work, says Good, who has no immediate plans. “I couldn’t walk into another world until I’d made the decision to leave this one.”

Penguin’s Canadian publishing program is closely associated with Good. “What I’m a little bit worried about is to what degree the nature of the list will change, and I suppose that might be more evident when we know who will replace her,” agent Bella Pomer told Inside Report.

Carson says no specific change of direction is planned. “Publishing lists are very much a reflection of their leaders but also of the people who are working with them…. We’re not fitting into a preconceived notion of what Penguin publishing in Canada should be like.”

Good, who celebrated her 20th anniversary at Penguin last September, was originally hired to build the company’s domestic publishing program. Under her direction Penguin became known for issue-oriented non-fiction, with such authors as John Ralston Saul, Linda McQuaig, Michael Ignatieff, and Mark Kingwell. Penguin also published Timothy Findley, Mordecai Richler, and Peter C. Newman. “We had a wonderful working relationship – she’s a superb editor,” says author Ernest Hillen, who published the memoir The Way of a Boy (1993) and its sequel Small Mercies (1997) with the house.

Carson took over as president of Penguin Canada – replacing Don Howard – in January 2002, after parent company Pearson merged its own professional, trade, and reference division with Penguin’s operations.

By: Staff

December 16th, 2003

10:17 am

Category: Industry News

Issue Date: 1996-10