NEW YORK, March 28, 2024 – Today Simon Element announced the launch of a new business imprint called Simon Acumen led by Richard Rhorer and Stephanie Hitchcock. Simon Acumen publishes books that help readers navigate the dynamic world of work. Authors include thought leaders, innovators, academics, journalists, and professionally curious people who blend theory and practice to provide fresh insights and practical pathways for readers to adapt, learn, and grow as they pursue their professional ambitions.

“Our company has always been an enthusiastic publisher of business books, from Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey to Peter Lynch and Ray Dalio,” said Simon & Schuster President and CEO, Jonathan Karp. “But we want to underscore our commitment to being a leader in this category by devoting even more resources to an imprint that’s in perpetual conversation with the authors and readers of business books.”

Publisher Richard Rhorer, drawing on his experience launching books from authors like Chip and Dan Heath and Jonah Berger during his years as Deputy Publisher of Simon & Schuster, noted that, “Now is the ideal moment to launch a new imprint dedicated to business books. Advances in technology and the seismic shifts in our culture in recent years have accelerated the pace of change in the ways we work and what we expect from our careers. Readers want books to help them find success and purpose in their professional lives.”

Building on Stephanie’s formidable track in the business category, she brings in new authors including: Time tech reporter Andrew Chow’s Cryptomania, acclaimed researcher and Wharton professor Matthew Bidwell’s Anchored, lecturers of negotiation at Harvard Law School, MIT, and University of Michigan John Richardson and Attia Qureshi’s Level Up, elite executive coach Pam Manfredo Curtis, Ph.D’s Leadership Pivot, and DEI leader and longtime professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business Gail Ayala Taylor’s First Generation Corporate.

Before launching Simon Acumen, Stephanie published notable successes at Atria Books like Tiago Forte’s Wall Street Journal bestseller Building a Second Brain, Amy Edmondson’s Right Kind of Wrong, whichwon the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year, Say the Right Thing by Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow. Prior to joining Atria Books, Stephanie served as an Editor at Harper and Harper Business. Some of the bestselling and award-winning titles she edited for Harper Business include The Person You Mean to Be by Dolly Chugh, Ultralearning by Scott Young, and You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham.

Editor Kimberly Meilun joins the team reporting to Stephanie, acquiring advice-driven business books in entrepreneurship, leadership, and personal success. Most recently, she was at PublicAffairs. Some of her authors included Emma Hayes, the new head coach of the US Women’s Soccer Team, LinkedIn Top Voice and personal branding consultant Goldie Chan, Harvard Business School professor and startup operations expert Julia Austin, journalist and creator of the Too Ambitious newsletter Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez, and women’s leadership coach Meghan French Dunbar. She brings certified CPA and profit strategist, Jamie Trull’s Power in Numbers to the Acumen list. Before PublicAffairs, Kimberly worked at Portfolio where she published bestselling books like Tranquility by Tuesday by time management expert Laura Vanderkam, The Experience Mindset by Salesforce customer growth evangelist Tiffani Bova, Actions Speak Louder by award-winning DEI coach Deanna Singh, and The Courage of Compassion by founder of the Bail Project Robin Steinberg.