Press Release: April 14, 2004

For Release: April 14, 2004, 10:00 a.m.

McCLELLAND & STEWART ANNOUNCES NEW PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER

April 14, 2004. Toronto. Avie Bennett, Chairman of the Board of McClelland & Stewart announced today that DOUG PEPPER will be the new President and Publisher of McClelland & Stewart, effective May 31, 2004. Mr. Pepper is one of the premier editors of a wide range of books, particularly non-fiction, with a luminous track record in both Canadian and U.S. book publishing over almost two decades. He was the charter editor of Random House of Canada’s Canadian publishing program, and then in 1998, he joined the Crown Publishing Group in New York, as Vice President and Senior Editor.

DOUGLAS GIBSON, the current President and Publisher, will remain with McClelland & Stewart and will now focus on publishing books under his own imprint, Douglas Gibson Books. “I’ve been a Publisher for more than twenty-five years now,” Gibson noted, “first at Macmillan of Canada, then from 1986 to 1988 at McClelland & Stewart looking after my own imprint, then as M&S’s Publisher from 1988 on, with the extra role of President added in 2000. In all that glorious time, spanning well over a thousand fine books, the most fun I had was in the two years spent editing and publishing my own line of Douglas Gibson Books. That’s what I’m going to be doing exclusively from now on. My list of books this fall gives you an idea why it’s going to be fun: new story collections by Alice Munro and Jack Hodgins, memoirs by Peter C. Newman and Sheila Copps, and a Christmas book by Alistair MacLeod.”

ELLEN SELIGMAN, in her position of Publisher (Fiction) and Vice President at McClelland & Stewart will remain responsible for the planning, acquiring and editing of the fiction list. Her fiction program includes many of Canada’s most celebrated writers as well as a roster of new writers. Seligman looks forward to a very strong list in 2005. “I have worked for many years with Doug Gibson and am pleased that he will now be able to focus full-time on what he most enjoys. Doug Pepper’s presence provides a new and exciting opportunity for the company’s continuing success as Canada’s premier publishing house.”

As President and Publisher at McClelland & Stewart, Doug Pepper will be responsible for the long-term strategic direction of the McClelland & Stewart publishing program, as well as for overseeing its day-to-day implementation.

Born and raised in Toronto, Doug Pepper joined Random House of Canada in 1987 and over the next eleven years, rose to the position of Vice President and Editorial Director. Doug acquired, among others, fiction by Carol Shields (including the Pulitzer Prize and Governor General’s Award-winning THE STONE DIARIES). He also became known as an accomplished editor of non-fiction, working with authors including Naomi Wolf, Jane Jacobs, Linda Frum, Simon Schama, B.W. Powe, Bruce McCall, P.J. O’Rourke, Bonnie Stern, as well as the Canadian Living Cookbook series.

In 1998, Mr. Pepper moved to New York to become Vice President and Senior Editor at the Crown Publishing Group. At Crown, he has edited nonfiction by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jimmy Breslin, leading educator and bestselling author Jonathan Kozol, Michael Cunningham, Alex Kotlowitz, humorist Christopher Buckley, Ann Coulter, David Brock, Phillip Lopate and Mark Kingwell. Pepper is also the general editor for a successful literary travel series, Crown Journeys, launched in 2002, which has thus far published the authors including Ishmael Reed and Chuck Palahniuk.

“I am truly excited at the opportunity to come back to Canada to be a part of McClelland & Stewart,” says Doug Pepper. “It would hardly be an overstatement to say that this is a dream job, a chance to be part of a great history and an even better future, and to work with such a talented and professional group of people, including two of the best editors in the business, Douglas Gibson and Ellen Seligman. I am confident that, moving forward, we will build on McClelland & Stewart’s storied past to not only meet the challenges of an exciting new marketplace but to thrive and grow in it.”

In making the announcement, Avie Bennett remarked “I am delighted that we have arranged a smooth handover from Doug Gibson to Doug Pepper, whose editorial expertise and market awareness make him the ideal person to lead M&S into its next phase of growth. In addition, I particularly would like to commend Doug Gibson for his leadership of the company as President for the last four years and as Publisher since 1988. His ongoing relationship with M&S through his imprint augurs well for the future of M&S. The vital continuation of Ellen Seligman’s excellent fiction list and her publishing expertise, along with Doug Gibson’s imprint, added to the new injection of Doug Pepper’s publishing acumen, will all ensure that M&S will continue to be “The Canadian Publisher” well into its second century. I am certain it will go on publishing the best Canadian books for Canadian readers.”

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For further information, please contact:
Avie Bennett, (416) 593-1366 ext 221
To reach Doug Pepper, Douglas Gibson or Ellen Seligman, please contact:
Nancy Grossman at (416) 598-1114 ext 308

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