‘Da Vinci Code’ publisher Stephen Rubin changes jobs, will head Henry Holt and Company

‘Da Vinci Code’ publisher changes jobs

NEW YORK — Dan Brown’s former publisher has a new job.

Stephen Rubin, who resigned last month from Random House Inc., will be the president and publisher of Henry Holt and Company, where authors include Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel and National Book Award finalist Greg Grandin. According to Holt’s parent company, Macmillan, Rubin will start Nov. 2.

“Throughout my career, I have always strived to publish those exceptional books that bridge the gap between commerce and literature,” Rubin said in a statement issued Tuesday by Macmillan. “I believe that Holt is the perfect place to do this.”

Rubin was the longtime head of the Broadway Doubleday division of Random House and published John Grisham, Pat Conroy and Brown, whose “The Da Vinci Code” is among the best-selling novels in history. Rubin also worked with Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood and other, more literary authors.

Holt has released such popular books as Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Nickel and Dimed,” but is better known for publishing more low-profile, literary titles, a direction Macmillan CEO John Sargent says will change.

“We’re moving Holt from being sort of a midlist driven, serious publisher to being pretty front and center,” Sargent said Tuesday. “To do that and do that quickly, you need someone who comes from that background.”

Holt’s current president and publisher, Dan Farley, had also been running the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and will continue in that job. Sargent praised Farley as a “great team player,” but also said he represented “the more historic thing Henry Holt has done in the past.”

“We’re looking for Steve to bring in commercial, repeat authors, which is the kind of thing Holt needs,” Sargent said.

Rubin’s departure from Random House came after Broadway Doubleday was broken up last year in a corporate consolidation. Rubin was widely believed to be bored in his next position, executive vice president and publisher-at-large of Random House Inc., although he signed up at least one big book — a memoir by former President George W. Bush.

Random House is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.