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PROFILE MARK SMITH


16.04.15 www.thebookseller.com


Smith spurs Bonnier


The founder of Quercus has a new challenge: ramping up the fiction publishing of Bonnier in the UK. But, as he tells Philip Jones, this time he will be going about things differently


children’s lists Hot Key Books and Piccadilly Press, adult fiction arm Zaffre and the digital- first imprint twenty7. Bonnier Publishing c.e.o. Richard Johnson described the appointment as a “marker of our ambition”. Smith says the backing of Bonnier UK— Johnson runs a group that also includes Templar, Igloo Books, Blink Publishing, Weldon Owen; The Five Mile Press in Australia; little bee books in the US; and Piccolia in France—was crucial. Bonnier is also part of the huge Scandinavian-based media group Bonnier AB.


I


n December, Quercus founder Mark Smith was brought in to supercharge Bonnier’s fiction publishing in the UK, comprising


Smith exited Quercus in April 2014, following its sale to Hodder. The deal with Bonnier came about when he was seeking finance for his new venture, Zaffre. “Starting publishing businesses is difficult. I talked to Bonnier about becoming a partner and it quickly turned into another conversation. I felt going with a 200-year-old publisher was better than going the private equity route, which is all about growing something very quickly and then selling it. I thought Bonnier would be better long term.”


PACE IS THE TRICK


But that does not mean Smith is not in a hurry. He has already installed former Quercus


colleagues Jane Harris (to run the children’s businesses) and Joel Richardson (as publisher at twenty7). And as exclusively revealed in The Bookseller Daily on Tuesday, he has also appointed James Horobin to the position of executive director, with responsibilities across sales and marketing. Smith is on the lookout for a head of fiction publishing, too. He sees twenty7, aimed at début and


international writers, as key. Digital releases will be used to build a track record, so that authors can later be published in print with a following already in place. “Quercus was built with début authors, but at the time of the sale it was becoming more difficult to work out a strategy for débuts,” Smith says. “I think it is necessary to have a story to tell retailers.” The target is to publish 30 twenty7 titles this year and 50 annually thereafter; Zaffre will release 30 titles in 2016, and 50 each year after that. “It took Quercus 10 years to get to a £20m-plus business. I want to get this business to that level in five years—I’d like to get there quicker, but five years tops.” Smith, who has already announced four deals during this


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Wendy Wu is an ordinary teenager who lives with her parents. She has always been taught about the virtues of peace, tranquillity and respect, always to use spoken word instead of violence.


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“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” (Confucius)


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