Top publishing exec regrets working over weekend after being let go Monday in unexpected shakeup: ‘I am taking the summer OFF’

There was a “blood bath,” as one literary source called it, at Knopf Doubleday this week when two top publishers were unexpectedly axed in a restructuring by the company.

Reagan Arthur of Alfred A. Knopf and Lisa Lucas of the imprints Pantheon and Schocken were let go in a move that reportedly shocked staffers.

But Lucas didn’t lose her sense of humor after learning she lost her job at 9:30 a.m., posting on X, “I have some regrets about spending the weekend working.”

She also wrote, “It was an honor to get to finally, briefly work in publishing!” and, “As for what’s next: Who knows! Free agent! I suppose I’ll think about that tomorrow?”

Lucas was the first black publisher at Pantheon, hired away from the National Book Foundation in 2020.

She wrote of the public reaction to her ouster, “Damn y’all no one died! My phone,” with a laughing-crying emoji. “I have no idea what’s next and that’s fine by me! I’m about to do some gardening and have some drinks in a few hours.”

She also commented via X on a New York Times piece, “Penguin Random House Dismisses Two of Its Top Publishers,” by tweeting, “I made the papers” — and wrote of all the coverage, “I gotta stop catching these push alerts!”

On Tuesday, she posted, “I am taking the summer OFF and I cannot wait. What a gift.”

And, “So what are some good fun employment activities?”

The Knopf Doubleday imprints are part of Penguin Random House, which is the largest domestic publishing house. The New York Times reported a source as saying that the departures of the publishers were part of cost-saving measures. 

The New York Times and Publishers Weekly reported that the president and publisher of Knopf Doubleday, Maya Mavjee, informed staffers of the shakeup, saying the moves were “necessary for our future growth.”

Mavjee’s memo reportedly said: “Our new structure — consisting of a nimble, concentrated leadership team — will enable us to meet the trials of an ever-shifting marketplace, hone the shape and focus of our imprints, and continue to allow us to do what we do best: publish great books.”

No publisher will replace Lucas and the Pantheon division will report to Doubleday, while Jordan Pavlin, editor-in-chief at Knopf will additionally be its publisher, reports said.