Simon & Schuster Names Time's Priscilla Painton Editor-in-Chief

Priscilla Painton, who was most recently the deputy managing editor of Time, has been named editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint, it was announced today. Simon & Schuster has been without an editor-in-chief since Michael Korda left a little over two years ago; during that time, editorial director Alice Mayhew was the highest ranking person at the imprint below publisher David Rosenthal.

Ms. Painton, who will start on March 3, spent almost 20 years at Time, where she started as a reporter in 1989. She served as the magazine's national editor for six years before becoming assistant managing editor and then executive editor in 2002. She quit this past October; according to a memo from Time editor Rick Stengel sent to staff at the time, Ms. Painton said she wanted a "Second Act."

The press release from Simon & Schuster quotes her as saying, "After a lifetime in journalism, it is a grand opportunity to enter the world of book publishing."