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Cathy Goldsmith has been named president and publisher of the Beginner Books line and the Dr. Seuss publishing program at Random House. She will report to publishing director Mallory Loehr.

Goldsmith has been with the company for nearly four decades. Prior to this appointment, she served as the vice president, associate publishing director, and art director of the Golden Books and Doubleday Young Readers imprints.

Here’s more from the press release: “Cathy follows the path forged by Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a Dr. Seuss) himself, who was President of Beginner Books at Random House from 1957 until his death in 1991. Cathy fondly recalls the days when Ted, as everyone called him, would hand-deliver his completed books to the Random House office and read them aloud to staff gathered together in a conference room.”

Cathy Goldsmith delighted session attendees with a multi-page handout outlining the key steps an illustrator goes through in their career, from submitting portfolios to going on a book tour. Here's a sneak at a point from each section:

Making portfolios (front load your portfolio with your best work!)
Starting to work on a picture book (ask about what type of binding will be used or whether you'll have illustrated endpapers!)
Considerations while working on a picture book (don't forget the gutter!)
Process (how many rounds of sketches will you need to get to final art?)
After publication (you might be asked to do additional artwork for print or online ads, be ready and willing!)