Today Random House announced that former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham will serve executive VP and executive editor at the publisher.

The appointment starts January 3rd. Meacham will both acquire and edit nonfiction titles. The editor won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for his Random House-published title,  American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

Random House imprint publisher Susan Kamil had this statement: “Jon will help us carry forward the Random House nonfiction publishing tradition, with a particular emphasis on works of history, biography, and religion … I look forward to working closely with Jon.”

Update: Meacham this statement: “For more than a decade, I have had a splendid relationship with Random House as an author, and now it feels natural to extend this relationship into a role as a contributor to their publishing program. I love editing, I love books, and I love the people at Random House, which always has felt like the right place for me. I have benefited enormously over the years as an author from the terrific work of Gina Centrello, my editor Kate Medina, and the greater Random House publishing team.”