Novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard has joined F+W Media as the head of their new young adult fiction imprint, Merit Press Books. The imprint will release five titles this year and has thirteen books slated for 2013.

Oprah Winfrey selected Mitchard’s 1996 novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, as the first title to kick off her famous Book Club. Mitchard has written both fiction and nonfiction, publishing books for adult, young adult and children’s readers.

Mitchard gave this statement in the release: “I’d wanted to be an editor for years, but didn’t see myself in a huge box in Manhattan. F+W made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: the chance to work with new authors and established authors on something so important. It’s exactly where I want to be at this point in my career. Something in me said – you’re home.” (Photo Credit: James Schnepf)