This fall, Pace University’s MS in Publishing Program welcomed Julia Reidhead as the semester’s Distinguished Professor lecture. Ms. Reidhead is Chairman and President of W. W. Norton and Company, the country’s older independent and employee-owned publisher. She is the first woman to lead the company and oversee all of its groups and departments, including College, Trade, Norton Ltd., W. W. Norton Canada, and the imprints of Liveright, Countryman Press, Norton Professional Books, and Norton Young Readers. Ms. Reidhead previously served as Vice President and Publishing Director of Norton’s College Department, where, for more than 30 years, she was the principal in-house editor of the lauded Norton Anthologies, among them The Norton Anthology of English Literatureand first editions of The Norton Shakespeare, The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, and The Norton Anthology of World Religions.
On the Trade side, Ms. Reidhead has edited works by Adrienne Rich, Pauli Murray, Anne Enright, Russell Shorto, and Elizabeth Samet. Ms. Reidhead is past chair of the Association of American Publishers, serves on the board of the National Book Foundation, and formerly chaired the Board of Governors of Yale University Press.
This fall’s lecture was titled, Reading to Learn, Reading for Life: Views from an Independent and Employee-Owned Publisher. The future of the publishing industry depends on growing new generations of readers. The meeting was attended by students, faculty, staff, and program Advisory Board members, as Ms. Reidhead led a spirited conversation about the challenging market for serious, book-length reading across genres and categories. Throughout her lecture, she highlighted the innovations in learning science and digital publishing that are helping students learn new ways of reading and writing. For her Fall 2025 Distinguished Professor Lecture, Ms. Reidhead was joined by three of her colleagues from W. W. Norton.
Caroline Adams is an associate editor at W. W. Norton, acquiring in history, current affairs, and expert-driven big idea books. Her books have been New York Times bestsellers, shortlisted for the FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year, and been noted on numerous “best books of the year” lists.
Amber Chow is Vice President and College Editor for Psychology at W. W. Norton and Company. She started her publishing career at Norton as a college sales representative, selling texts and development, and product management. Throughout her career Amber has cultivated a diverse skill set with expertise in content strategy and development, agile product management, and instructional design and learning science.
Mateus Teixeira is Vice President and Director of Digital Publishing, Production, and Design at W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. In tandem with Norton’s College Department, his team integrated business strategy, editorial vision, and technology to deliver learning and teaching tools that balance innovation usability and scale while upholding Norton’s high standards.