Julia Cheiffetz has been named editorial director of Amazon’s brand new New York City-based publishing imprint. She will start on August 1st.

In a memo to staff, publisher Larry Kirshbaum explained the hire: “Julia’s sharp editorial sensibility and devotion to her authors, combined with her passion for new technology, makes her the perfect choice. She offers a unique blend of an entrepreneurial mind-set built upon a strong belief in the bedrock values of traditional literary and commercial publishing.”

Previously, Cheiffetz worked as a senior editor at Harper, working on titles that included 5th Avenue, 5 AM by Sam Wasson, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, and How to Write a Sentence by Stanley Fish. She spent six years at Random House and also worked at HarperStudio.