Publishing chief retiring

Jack Romanos, chief executive of Simon & Schuster, said Thursday that he planned to retire after a 40-year career in publishing. He turns 65 on Nov. 1.

Romanos will be succeeded by Carolyn Reidy, currently president of Simon & Schuster’s Adult Publishing Group. Reidy, 58, said she anticipated no changes in the kinds of books Simon & Schuster releases, including novels by Stephen King and Don DeLillo and works by Bob Woodward, David McCullough and others that have long established the publisher as a leader of political and historical titles.

“I’m just blue collar enough to think that 65 is a magical number for retirement and that giving other people the opportunity to step in seems right to me,” said Romanos, who joined Simon & Schuster in 1985 after working at Fawcett Publications and Bantam Books.