Gersh has named Joseph Veltre the head of its book department, the agency has confirmed to TheWrap.
Veltre will broker publishing deals and sell books for film and TV in his new role. He has spent the past six years running The Veltre Company, and he'll be bringing all of his clients to Gersh when he joins the agency's New York office on Feb. 1.
Veltre's author clients include Steve Amick, Taylor Antrim, Jessica Blank, Bob Friel, Robyn Harding, Stephanie Klein, Alison Pace, Jason Pinter, Matthew Polly, David Treuer and Lauren Willig.
Phyllis Wender will continue to broker publishing deals at Gersh, while Veltre fills the void left by Sara Self, who made all the book-to-movie deals for the agency prior to her departure.
Veltre previously served as director of development for Miramax Films and editor-at-large for Miramax Books. He has also worked as an editor at HarperCollins and St. Martin's Press.
Gersh recently acquired boutique agency Hohman Maybank Lieb and made indie film guru Jay Cohen a partner.
Veltre's hiring was first reported by Deadline.
