Noelle Webster Leaves Penguin Random House, Tara Lehmann Leaves Oni

Tara Lehmann, Publicity Director at Oni Press who has been with the company for three years, posted yesterday “Even though I’ve known this day was coming for a few weeks now, it’s still surreal to announce that tomorrow is my last day at Oni Press. While I am sad to leave my talented coworkers & creators, I am very excited for what comes next. Stay tuned for more details next week.” I understand that Lehmann handed in her notice a few weeks ago, before owners James Lucas Jones and Charlie Chu were pushed out. She added, “This was actually planned and had been in the works for a little bit.”

Before Oni Press, Tara Lehmann was Publicity Assistant at Beyond Words Publishing, Publicist, Editor and Marketer at Endpaper Publishing Services, Publicist at Cherry Lake Publishing, Medical Review Editor at AllMed Healthcare Management, Marketing Manager at Craigmore Creations, Administrative Assistant at PubWest, Editorial Associate at RainTown Press, Marketing Manager at Ooligan Press and more. Time for a new thing, it seems.

While Noelle Webster, Associate Director of Client Operations, Graphic Novels & Manga at Penguin Random House, is leaving comics entirely. Yesterday, she tweeted out “Today is my last day working in comic publishing! I’m super proud of my decade-long career, but also very excited for the next thing!”

Webster had been with the publisher for over three years, and was previously Managing Editor at their Kodansha Comics line. Before that, she was Assistant Sales Manager, Direct Market at Marvel Comics, Marketing Assistant at Kodansha, Marketing Coordinator at DC Comics, comic book reviewer for Newsarama’s Best Shots, Administrative Assistant at HarperCollins, and interned in sales and marketing and reviewed comics at Publisher’s Weekly.

There does seem to be a lot of churn and change within the comics industry right now, just before San Diego Comic-Con. Which will give a lot of people a lot to talk about. The Thursday night CBLDF/ComiXology Welcome Party is going to be quite the social mixer, I expect.