NYU's Graduate Publishing Program Announces Winner of 2009 Oscar Dystel Fellowship

NEW YORK February 4, 2009—Graduate student Martha Batalha is the recipient of the 2009 Oscar Dystel Fellowship, announced the Master of Science in Publishing program at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS). The award committee also gave an honorary scholarship to graduate student Kimberly Bayley.

The Dystel Fellowship—named for Oscar Dystel, a legendary leader in the publishing industry and former CEO and chairman of Bantam Books—consists of tuition scholarships awarded each year to outstanding graduate students in publishing. Members of the award committee, all distinguished professionals in the publishing community, serve as mentors to the Dystel Fellows and provide unique learning and networking opportunities.

“We are proud to award this year’s Dystel Fellowship to Martha Batalha, who has demonstrated a strong command of her academic studies as well as remarkable creativity, entrepreneurship and devotion to a career in publishing,” said Andrea Chambers, director of the M.S. in Publishing program, one of 14 specialized Master’s degree programs offered at NYU-SCPS.

Chambers continued, “Kimberly Bayley, recipient of an honorary scholarship, is to be highly commended as well. Both Martha and Kimberly have mastered the publishing fundamentals as well as the digital skills necessary to succeed in this challenging environment. They exemplify the high standards and academic rigor of students within the program.”

“Martha and Kimberly are gifted and talented individuals who promise to bring new energy and ideas to publishing. I am sure that they will take what they learn in the program and do great things in our industry,” said Jane Dystel, chair of the Fellowship Committee and Oscar Dystel’s daughter.  She is a longstanding literary agent and president of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

The Oscar Dystel committee consists of Irwyn Applebaum, former president and publisher, Bantam Dell Publishing Group; Jane Friedman, former president and chief executive officer, HarperCollins Publishers; Martha Levin, executive vice president and publisher, Free Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc.; Robert Miller, president and publisher, HarperStudio; Sara Nelson, former editor-in-chief, Publishers Weekly; Stephen Rubin, executive vice president and publisher-at-large, Random House; Lorraine Shanley, principal, Market Partners International, Inc.; William Shinker, president and publisher, Gotham Books, Penguin Group USA.;  and Peter Workman, president and publisher, Workman Publishing.

The Master of Science in Publishing program at NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies offers a graduate degree designed to prepare industry professionals for management positions in both book and magazine companies. From traditional to digital media, the program provides the knowledge and expertise for success in an era of media convergence. Classes, taught by leading publishing professionals, are all in the evening and emphasize the leading-edge editing, marketing and branding, circulation and distribution, advertising, business development and digital skills needed to advance and excel.
 

About Martha Batalha
Batalha, recipient of the Dystel Fellowship, came to the United States one year ago from Brazil, where she was the founder and president of Desiderata, an innovative, Rio de Janeiro-based book publishing company specializing in humor and journalism books. Three of Desiderata’s 24 books were national bestsellers in Brazil. After selling her company to Ediouro, Martha enrolled in the Master of Science in Publishing program at New York University to expand her knowledge of the American market. She is currently interning with HarperStudio. A graduate of Pontifica Universidade Catolica (PUC), she envisions a career as an online marketer and eventually as an American publisher.

About Kimberly Bayley
Bayley, recipient of an honorary Dystel scholarship, is the associate manager of cross channel communications for Scholastic Inc., where she works on launch strategies for trade titles with domestic and international company sales channels, among other duties. Previously, she was an assistant editor for Scholastic Book Clubs. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a B.S. in Journalism, Kimberly hopes to earn an MBA after her graduation from NYU’s Master of Science in Publishing program. Her ultimate career goal is to run her own publishing company.