Barbara Marcus

Advisor, Open Road Integrated Media and Strategic Innovations Adviser, Penguin US

Barbara Marcus has spent most of her career in the area of Children’s Publishing and Media and is considered a leading business and marketing strategist in the areas of children’s content and distribution.

Barbara is currently serving as Advisor to Open Road in the area of children’s publishing and general strategy.  She is also currently Strategic Innovations Advisor to Penguin Books USA focusing in the area of new ventures and new publishing opportunities. She is representing Tuff Gong, the singer Bob Marley’s company, for literary projects. Ms. Marcus is on the Board of Knowledge Adventure, a children’s software and technology company and Media Source, a children’s books direct marketing company and publisher of Library Journal and School Library Journal.  She is also a Special Advisor to Forever Entertainment in Los Angeles, California.

Prior to that, Barbara was President, Scholastic Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution where she was responsible for all children’s consumer book publishing and distribution in the United States, through school-based book clubs, school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs, school-based book fairs and the retail channel for over 20 years.  During her tenure, she led the expansion of the business from approximately 50 million in revenue to over 1 billion in revenue.  After acquiring J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for publication in the United States in 1998, Barbara also led the publishing effort for six out of the seven Harry Potter titles.