People

Virginia Duncan, executive editor of HarperCollins' Greenwillow imprint, will take over as vice president and publisher next month. Duncan replaces Greenwillow founder Susan Hirschman. Prior to working at Greenwillow, Duncan was executive editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. She began her career at Macmillan, where she became editor of Bradbury Press and editor-in-chief of Four Winds Press.

Anne Fine, author of such titles as Madame Doubtfire and The Tulip Touch, was named Great Britain's second children's laureate, replacing the illustrator Quentin Blake. The children's laureate is a two-year appointment, during which the honoree promotes the cause of children's literature and reading.