NEW YORK -- The publisher of Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint, Dana Canedy, is stepping down to concentrate on a sequel to a book Denzel Washington adapted last year for a film of the same name, “A Journal for Jordan.”
Canedy, a former New York Times editor and writer and the first Black woman to be hired as publisher of Simon & Schuster, will step down July 27. Her next book has been acquired by Simon & Schuster and she will continue there as an advisor and to work on some projects she brought to the company, including former Vice President Mike Pence's memoir.
Her sequel to “A Journal for Jordan,” currently untitled, is scheduled for 2024. “A Journal for Jordan” is the story of Canedy's late partner, First Sgt. Charles M. King, and the journal he wrote for their son while he was serving in the Iraq War. King was killed in combat in 2006.
The movie was directed by Washington and starred Michael B. Jordan as King and Chanté Adams as Canedy.
“I am pleased to continue to be a part of the Simon & Schuster family, collaborating with the team to bring readers books by these important authors,” Canedy said in a statement Tuesday. “I had not quite expected the profound impact that our movie would have on me. And after the overwhelming response to it, prompting daily requests for a follow-up to my first book, I concluded that the time is right to write the sequel to ‘A Journal for Jordan.’"
Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, who announced Canedy's departure in a company memo, will serve as publisher of the imprint “for the foreseeable future.” He previously held the job before succeeding the late Carolyn Reidy in 2020 as CEO.
“Over the past two years, Dana Canedy has improved and bolstered the Simon & Schuster imprint in innumerable ways: by attracting incredibly talented authors and editors; by offering us fresh eyes on our practices through her perspective as an award-winning journalist and bestselling author; and by bringing vitality, voice, and humanity to Simon & Schuster, as I knew she would,” Karp said in a statement.
“Knowing what a great team Dana has built and sustained, I’m looking forward to working more directly and deeply on the many outstanding books we publish.”
