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April 28, 2016
CHICAGO, IL—After nearly 15 years with Independent Publishers Group (IPG), Mary Rowlesis retiring from her position as Publisher Development Manager. Her last day at IPG will be Friday, May 6, 2016.
Stepping into Rowles’ role is Richard T. Williams, formerly the Director of IPG’s Small Press United (SPU) division. Williams started with the IPG sales team in 2005, but has been focused onhelping small publishers grow their lists and navigate the industry since the launch of SPU in 2009. His new title is Director, Publisher Development.
About her time at IPG, Rowles says, “My 40 plus years in publishing have brought much joy,and blessed me lifelong friends. Some of the best of them are the publishers I have come to know through IPG. It has been a pleasure to be a part of the growth and transformation of this company.”
Mary Rowles began her lifelong career in publishing at The Bookman, a regional wholesaler in Minneapolis, where she showed a strong affinity for sales. She went on to be a sales representative for W. H. Smith/Mayflower Books, St. Martin's Press, and a commission sales rep with Heinecken Associates, representing Workman, Sterling, Abbeville, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt Brace and GlobePequot, among others. She also worked as the children’s book buyer at The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois, and the LPC Group in Chicago, before joining Independent Publishers Group as trade sales manager in 2001.
Richard T. Williams has taken SPU from its nascent stage to the revenue-generating distribution leg of IPG that it is today. Under Williams, SPU has acquired 200 publishers, nearly doubling its size,and it now boasts more than 800 active titles. Bestselling title Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows (2012;9780978545093) was born out of the SPU program. Success of the program has been largely due to Williams’ keen eye for quality books with potential, and his ability to flex for publishers working under less traditional publishing models. Williams begins his new role as IPG’s Director of Publisher Development on Monday, May 9th.