Wendy Strothman Named President of Authors Guild Foundation as Marie Arana Steps Down for New TV Role

NEW YORK, NY—The Authors Guild Foundation, the charitable and educational arm of the Authors Guild, today announced that President Marie Arana is stepping down from her role. She is pursuing an exciting new opportunity as senior executive producer of America’s Book Club, a national primetime television show on C-SPAN with David Rubenstein premiering this fall. Arana will remain actively involved with the Foundation, serving on the board and participating in key committees.

“It has been a great honor to lead the Authors Guild Foundation board during such a harrowing time for writers,” said Arana. “The assaults have been legion: the banning of books, their plunder by artificial intelligence, the infringements on copyright, the rush to dismantle literary culture, just to name a few. I am in awe of the phenomenal advancements Mary Rasenberger and her staff have made and will continue to make on all these fronts.”

The Foundation is excited to announce that Vice President Wendy Strothman will become its new president. She is already transitioning into her expanded leadership role during this pivotal time in the organization’s history. 

“We extend our deepest gratitude to Marie for her exceptional service and dedication to the Authors Guild Foundation,” said Rasenberger, the CEO of the Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation. “She has gracefully guided us since taking on the presidency in 2023, and we are incredibly fortunate to have benefited from her leadership and wise counsel. While we’ll miss having her as president, we’re thrilled that she’ll continue to contribute her expertise as a board member and committee participant.” 

The Foundation is excited to welcome Strothman’s expanded leadership during this transformative period. She brings vast experience and industry expertise to help guide the organization’s growth and evolution. 

“We are tremendously grateful and excited to have Wendy’s leadership, experience, and industry knowledge as we continue to grow and transform,” said Deborah K. Wilson, the executive director of the Authors Guild Foundation. “She has already been a tremendous asset, providing invaluable advice on advocacy issues, fundraising, and our annual Words, Ideas, and Thinkers festival. Her transition to president ensures continuity and strong leadership for our mission.” 

Of her upcoming tenure, Strothman had this to say: “The work of the Authors Guild and the Authors Guild Foundation is more important than ever as we fight back against all the challenges writers have to face with our advocacy and educational programs. Books are essential to our democracy, and authors need to be able to make a living. I’m proud to be associated with such an essential organization.”   

Strothman is currently a senior partner at Aevitas Creative Management, a literary agency, and is the founder of the Strothman Agency, LLC.  As a literary agent, she has represented four Pulitzer Prize-winning books and two Pulitzer finalists in addition to numerous award-winning titles and New York Times bestsellers.   

Before founding her agency, from 1995–2002, she was the executive vice president of Houghton Mifflin Company and publisher of its Trade & Reference Division, overseeing the publication of reference, children’s, and adult books. During her tenure, she also worked as editor for Philip Roth, John Kenneth Galbraith, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., James Carroll, and others, and the division won more awards than at any time in its history, including two Pulitzer Prizes, a National Book Award, three Caldecott Medals, and two Newbery Medals. Before Houghton, she was publisher of Beacon Press from 1983–95, and she began her career at the University of Chicago Press, where she became assistant director and general editor. 

She served six years as a trustee and eleven years as fellow and secretary of the Brown University Corporation, ten years as a director of the Copyright Clearance Center, and five years on the board of 826 Boston and the Board of Governors of Yale University Press.    

She joined the Authors Guild Foundation Board in 2019 and lives with her husband John Bishop in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.