Two editors at Pocket Books and an editorial assistant at Simon Spotlight Entertainment were laid off in a small round of cuts carried out at Simon & Schuster last week.
Maggie Crawford, the editorial director of Pocket Books, had been with the company for more than eight years, and developed a reputation in the field of women’s fiction. Margaret Clark, who edited books in the Star Trek franchise as part of Simon Spotlight’s media tie-in department, joined Pocket in 1996, according to a report posted on the Web site TrekMovie.com. Her departure from the company was discussed and lamented at length over the weekend by Star Trek fans on the Trek BBS message board.
Simon & Schuster announced the elimination of 35 positions last December, on the day that would come to be known as the publishing industry’s “black Wednesday.” Layoffs at the company have continued in a trickle ever since, with positions in various departments—including production, sales, and marketing– being cut at the Touchstone Fireside imprint, the children’s division, and elsewhere.
This latest round of cuts came as a surprise to Pocket staff, who learned of them on Tuesday when publisher Louise Burke sent out an announcement.
Ms. Burke did not return a call last Friday. Pocket Books publicity director Jean Anne Rose declined to comment, as did Simon & Schuster’s corporate spokesman Adam Rothberg. Jennifer Bergstrom, the publisher of Simon Spotlight, could not be reached today.
