Lucas and Arthur Out at PRH
Penguin Random House has announced the removal of two of its most prominent publishers: Reagan Arthur, head of Alfred A. Knopf, and Lisa Lucas, who ran Pantheon and Schocken, are both out in a surprise restructuring.
Lucas, at least, didn’t see it coming, posting on social media that she learned of the dismissal on Monday morning, and adding, “I have some regrets about spending the weekend working.”
Knopf Doubleday president and publisher Maya Mavjee released a memo that called the restructuring “necessary for our future growth.” Pantheon editorial teams will report to Doubleday, with no replacement planned for Lucas. Jordan Pavlin, editor-in-chief at Knopf, is taking over as publisher there.
The New York Times reports that the decision was rumored to be a cost-saving measure; Arthur and Lucas were both relatively recent and high-profile hires. Lucas, hired in 2020, was the first Black publisher at Pantheon since its founding 80 years ago. Arthur, who once ran her own eponymous imprint at Little, Brown, took over Knopf in 2020 when longtime head Sonny Mehta died.
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