Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 4/5/2010 9:56:24 AM
With the departure of founder Bob Miller to Workman Publishing it was widely expected that HarperStudio was be shut and Friday afternoon Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins general books group and Canada, sent a memo to employees informing them of the decision to close the imprint. According to HC, the "last batch" of titles to be published under the HarperStudio imprint will be on its summer 2010 list, and beginning with the fall 2010 list books signed by the imprint will be released under other HC imprints.

Morrison said that in the "entrepreneurial spirit" of HarperStudio "all of our imprints are happy to discuss profit share scenarios on a book by book basis. Under Miller, HC offered lower-than-ordinary advance to authors in exchange for a higher royalty. The imprint also tried to sell books on a nonreturnable basis.

The HarperStudio staff will remain with HC with associate publisher Debbie Stier continuing in her role a director of digital marketing for all of HC and she will acquire books for all imprints as editor-at-large. Stier had acquired books for HarperStudio. HarperStudio senior editor Julia Cheiffetz will move to the Harper imprint and report to Jonathan Burnham and assistant editor Katie Salisbury will continue to report to Cheiffetz.