Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company has announced that William B. (Bill) Eerdmans Jr. will step away from his role as president and publisher and assume the role of chairman of the board of the family-owned company, effective immediately.

Replacing him as president and publisher is his wife, Anita Eerdmans (pictured left), who previously served as vice president of Marketing and of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. She will be only the third president/publisher in the company’s 103-year history.

Bill Eerdmans has been president and publisher since 1963, when he took over the position from his father, William B. Eerdmans Sr., who founded the company in 1911. During his long and distinguished tenure, Bill Eerdmans has overseen steady growth both in the number of books published by Eerdmans and in the worldwide reputation of the firm.

“I’m ever grateful for the lot that has fallen to me, that of following my father in steering this company to the prominence it has enjoyed at the hands of its authors, fellow workers, and the world near and far of booksellers and publishing colleagues,” Eerdmans said. “It’s been exciting and inspiring. I am truly blessed in having as my successor Anita, who has, throughout our nearly forty years of partnership, proven worthy of every confidence to further pursue our broad range of publishing interests.”

Among other notable achievements, Bill Eerdmans’ legacy includes the expansion of the company’s list beyond its Reformed Protestant roots to encompass books by Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and other authors, as well as many books on ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. His ongoing passion for justice and equality led not only to the publication of many cutting edge anti-apartheid books during South Africa’s apartheid years but also to groundbreaking books on race, gender, and a host of other pressing social issues.

More recently, his interest in Russian theology and literature has led to a number of translations of important Russian writers. He continues to be active in the acquisition and assessment of new projects for the company.

Anita Eerdmans began her career in the Eerdmans editorial department in 1974 before transitioning into the marketing department she now leads. Since 2006 she has also been responsible for the children’s imprint Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, which she has led to national prominence, publishing titles that have won such prestigious national awards as the Caldecott Honor Award for illustration, the Batchelder Award for translation, and the Schneider Family Award for books about disability, all given by the American Library Association.

Bill and Anita Eerdmans have been married for 38 years.