After a prolonged search, the National Book Foundation has hired Harold Augenbraum as executive director, succeeding Neil Baldwin, who resigned last fall. Augenbraum has been the head of the Mercantile Library, where he established the Proust Society of America, the Center for World Literature, the New York Mystery Festival and the Fadiman Medal for Literature. He is also the recipient of many grants, an important consideration given the fund-raising responsibilities of the executive director's position. Augenbraum is also a scholar of Latino literary studies and the winner of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America "for contributions to the field." Augenbraum said he was "thrilled" to be joining the NBF, where he hopes to "create new programs that will benefit literature in America."