Denise Oswald Lands at It Books

Denise Oswald, former editorial director for indie publisher Soft Skull Press, has landed a new job as a senior editor at HarperCollins imprint It Books.

The Observer broke the news that Soft Skull would close its two-person New York office late last year, leaving its operations in the hands of the Berkeley-based publisher Counterpoint, which acquired Soft Skull in 2007.

Before heading to Soft Skull, Ms. Oswald worked at Faber & Faber, where she specialized in narrative nonfiction with a pop culture sensibility, along with authors like Billy Corgan and Courtney Love. It Books deals in a similar titles — look out for their Sammy Hagar autobiography later this month — and Ms. Oswald said this drew her to the imprint. "I think I bring a certain grittiness to whatever I do," she said.

On the subject of Soft Skull, Ms. Oswald was eyes-forward. "I wish the folks in Berkeley the best in terms of continuing the brand, but it saddens me certainly because Soft Skull did draw so much on the energy and vitality of writers in New York," she said, adding that it's not impossible to recreate the aesthetic on the West Coast. "It's all about what they choose to bring to the table."