Penguin Group hires two to boost kids' books

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Penguin Group (USA) has hired two prominent publishing executives to boost its children's division, underscoring the growing importance of the children's book market, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

Don Weisberg, a former president of the Random House Sales Group and a member of Random House's executive team, was named president of Penguin Young Readers Group, the Journal said.

Barbara Marcus, who oversaw the U.S. publication of the first six Harry Potter novels while she was president of children's-book publishing and distribution at Scholastic, was named strategic advisor, the Journal said.

Penguin is a unit of Pearson (PSON.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

For many large publishers, children's books are an increasingly important category, the Journal said. In 2007, juvenile-hardcover book sales rose more than 12 percent to almost $1.9 billion (977 million pounds) in revenue, compared with 2006, while adult-hardcover sales rose just over 4 percent to $5.8 billion, the Journal said.

(Reporting by Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Gary Hill)