Ben Sevier leaves St. Martin’s

Speaking of jaw-dropping news, Ben Sevier is leaving St. Martin’s to join Simon & Schuster, as

a senior editor at Touchstone/Fireside.  His last day in the office

will be November 8. Since starting at St. Martin’s in 2000 and moving up the ranks from being Kelley Ragland’s assistant to acquiring authors in his own right, Sevier has edited many of the mystery field’s top names, including Ken Bruen, Dan Judson, Marcus Sakey, Louise Penny, Robert Ellis, J.D. Rhoades, Steve Hockensmith, Joan Druette, Jason Starr, Mitchell Bartoy, David Housewright, Steven Sidor and Ben Rehder. He also has edited Paul Neilan, Dan Elish, Alexandra Sokoloff, Robert Gregory Browne, Daniel Buckman, and Bill Engvall for St. Martin’s.

No doubt Ben will kick some serious ass at Touchstone/Fireside (which is only starting to build up its crime & thriller list) but he’ll definitely be missed at SMP.