Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co. said Thursday that Chief Executive Linda K. Zecher had resigned after five years on the job and that it had started a search for her replacement.

The book publisher said that while it conducts the search, board member L. Gordon Crovitz will serve as interim CEO. Mr. Crovitz, who has been part of the board since 2012, is a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal and a continued contributor to the newspaper.

"The board decided this was a good time to begin a search for the next CEO," said Lawrence K. Fish, chairmen of the board, in a prepared statement.

Additionally, Houghton Mifflin updated its outlook for the current year, saying billings will be at the low end of guidance between $1.53 billion and $1.60 billion.

Shares of Houghton Mifflin closed Thursday at $14.908, down 33% over the past year, and were inactive in after-hours trading.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2016 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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