Rodale Inc. Names Mary Ann Naples VP/Publisher, Rodale Books

Rodale Inc., the world's leading healthy lifestyle publisher, announced today that Mary Ann Naples has been named VP/Publisher, Rodale Books, effective March 4, 2013.

As VP/Publisher of the Books Group, Naples will oversee North American trade and direct book publishing operations, including editorial, marketing, and distribution channels. She will also collaborate with Rodale's award-winning brands, including international editions, to expand the scope of the Rodale Books list into new areas. She will report to Maria Rodale, Chairman & CEO, Rodale Inc., and will join the company's senior management team.

Said CEO Maria Rodale: "Mary Ann's breadth of experience at the nexus of tech and talent, at traditional publishing houses as well as at groundbreaking start-ups, positions her perfectly to drive the Rodale Books business into the future. Her experience as an editor, agent, and business development professional will move our core categories forward and broaden our list strategically."

Most recently, Naples was Chief of Business Development for Zola Books, a social e-book retail site dedicated to building connections between authors, readers, booksellers, publishers, and book lovers, where she will continue to hold a position on the start-up's advisory board. Prior to Zola, Naples was Vice President of Talent and Business Development at OpenSky, a social retail platform named one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company magazine. Mary Ann's roots in publishing are deep; she was cofounder of The Creative Culture, Inc., a boutique literary agency known for its emphasis on lifestyle books; strong, branded nonfiction; and authors with platforms (including bestsellers such as Joel Fuhrman, MD's Eat to Live, Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, Danica McKellar's math series, and Lauren Conrad's YA books). Before that, Naples was an editor at Simon & Schuster, Hyperion, and Doubleday.

Said Naples: "As publisher, I'll look to build on Rodale's incredible assets, as well as create opportunities for growth across new categories and initiatives. My background as an author advocate with a long publishing history, coupled with my branding and start-up experience, will help me forge new paths for Rodale in this fast-shifting digital publishing landscape. I'm honored to join a company whose mission is to inspire its customers and truly make a difference in their lives."

In the last year, Rodale Books has added Wheat Belly to its collection of New York Times bestselling titles (52 weeks on the list, also a Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller), as well as the companion Wheat Belly Cookbook, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestsellers list last month. Rodale is preparing to publish Jessica Alba's debut book The Honest Life in March and has signed Alicia Silverstone for two more titles, The Kind Mama and The Kind Diet Cookbook-follow-ups to her #1 New York Times bestseller The Kind Diet (also published by Rodale Books).