Editor of Publishers Weekly Among Those Laid Off in Reed Restructuring

The magazine that has been diligently reporting the rising number of layoffs in the publishing industry has been hit with a high-profile layoff of its own. Sara Nelson, the editor in chief of Publishers Weekly, the industry's leading trade magazine, was recently laid off as part of a restructuring by the publication's parent company, Reed Business Information. Nelson had held the position for four years. “I feel like it was a great run, and I am very proud of the changes that my staff and I have made," she told Motoko Rich of the New York Times. "I am sorry that the magazine and I are parting ways."

According to the Web site BookBrunch.com, executive editor Daisy Maryles, children's review editor Elizabeth Devereaux, and bookselling editor Kevin Howell were also laid off.

Reed, which publishes a shelf of magazines, including School Library Journal, Library Journal, Variety, and Criticas, released a statement announcing the layoffs of about 7 percent of its staff. Brian Kenney, the editor of School Library Journal, will assume Nelson's responsibilities as editorial director of three magazines: Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Library Journal. 

Before joining Publishers Weekly in 2005, Nelson covered the publishing industry for the New York Post, the New York Observer, and the now-defunct Web site Inside.com. She is the author of So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading (Putnam, 2003).