The departures of Reagan Arthur, who led Alfred A. Knopf, and Lisa Lucas, who held the top job at Pantheon and Schocken, came as a surprise to many in the company.
The free-expression group has been engulfed by debate over its response to the Gaza war that forced the cancellation of its literary awards and annual festival.
The decision by the free expression group came after intense criticism of its response to the war in Gaza. A wave of participants had pulled out of the festival in protest.
The event had been set for April 29, but weeks of escalating criticism of the organization’s response to the war had led nearly half of the prize nominees to withdraw.