PAST WINNERS
2020 Rebecca Folland Hachette
2019 Andrew Sharp
2018 Karine Marko The Quarto Group
2017 Kate Hibbert Little, Brown
2016 Michele Young Pan Macmillan
RIGHTS PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
OVERVIEW Rights depar
VIEW
Rights departments ha
have been hit harder than most by the pandemic. W
about spending, they have had to be mor
been hit har er
pandemic. With travel i impossible, scmpossible, schedules th thrown int man
be more resourcefulesourceful and tenacious than
and t nacious than ever. The en masse nomination of two
nomination of tw cellent collabor
excellent collaboration that has been shown too, while all f individuals on t tlist appear f
tion
at has been sho too, while all four individuals on this shortlist appear for
wn into chaos and
many markets nervous about spending, hav had to
CAROLINE CLARKE
Canongate s rights mana er h ped th publisher respond to the challenges of 2020, s
AROLINE CLARKE e’s ri’
ng up sales in markets incl
sub-agents. Developing video content fr
ng vi
ghts managerhelped the eng
2020, steering dozens more deals for Matt Haig, sig, stepping up sales in markets includ- ing Scandinavia and India, and managing ub-agents. De
from authors proved a good support to Canong
and data. She also co-founded Canongate’s literary award for under-represented auth s, th
us but vital admin like contracts, reports d d
o-founded Canong d f r un
authors, the Nan Shepherd Prize. THÉRÈSE COENTHÉRÈSE COEN
an Shep er Prize.
Hardmardman & Swainson’s Thérèse Coen fli
shortlist. She has singl andlingbigdeals and auctions a
flies the flag for literary agencies on this sh
s single-handedly created
its rights department from scratch, deftly handling big deals and auctions across a range of genres and proving particularly adept withd dir
ept with débuts. As well as selling ts. As well as selling
direct, she handles a network of co-agents and s outr
d scouts, and s act ve n th d is ai tiive i in the agency s treach. “Thérèse is one of the most
passionate foreign rights professionals in the busin for h
e business, and goes above and beyond r her authors,” sai
dgoes abo e andbey s,” said one scout.
t.
NOSY CR W RIGHTS TEAM ts ph
NOSY CROW RIGHTS TEAM Nos
al s
o b ying w on en
ghts in n
osy Crow turned 10 in 2020, and owes its phenomenal success over the decade to buying world rights in nearly all its content, then squeezing every last dr p o drop of sales from them. Its four-strong team—Michela Pea, Erin Murgatroyd, Núria Martí i Pampalona and Lucy Dunnet—grew translation and coedition sales by 50%, focusing on its regular partners and find- ing new potential in the backlist. Its flex- ible approach and interactive rights guide went down well with its many partners,ners among whom it enjoys huge respect.
er the dec ong artí i Pampal transl ti h an
SIMON & SCHUSTER RIGHTS TEAM S&S’ rights team of seven—Stephanie Purcell (who recently moved to Bloomsbury), Maud Sepult, Amy Fletcher, Nino Tarkhan-Mouravi, Amy Threadgold, Ben Phillips and Filipo Bernardini—had its best year, excelling in coeditions, Asia and children’s fiction, securing more than £1m of contracts for Annabel Steadman. It wasn’t just the big deals: the team pursued lesser-exploited rights like serialisation, large print and book clubs, and translations into minority languages. “An absolute joy to work with,” said one partner.
RIGHTS TEAM EMMA THA
EMMA THAWLEY Hach
d L
Quercus’ head of rights Emma Thawley led one of the rights sector’s most creative u ti
chette’s deputy rights dirghts director and uercus’ h
responses to Covid disruption: a digital substitute for The London Book Fair called #lbftoyou. As well as generating sales, it provided sociable connections between publishers, authors and others when they were needed, and was typical of her posi- tivity and can-do approach. She is widely admired across Hachette, and beyond. “She’s been a rock and an inspiration to all her colleagues,” said one testimonial.
36
o-agents cy’s’
ngate’s virtual Frankfurt Book Fair
work, and she calmly managed unglamor ous but vital admin lik
ed unglam -
CATHRYN GREGORY Cathryn Gr
thryn Gregory andh YN GREGORY d her team gave
Macmillan Children’s Books its best ever year of coedition business, despite all the disru
disruption. Deals in Germany, Italy and Turkey rocketed, and US sales across the Campbell and T sh
als in Germ sharply sin
the backlis cat ogu
, I aly an
pbell and Two Hoots lists have risen y since she took on the market.
s listshav rise
Gregory has brought fresh rights energy to the backlist, especially Julia Donaldson’s d gr
pecially Juli
atalogue, and grown non-book rights like audio and performance. A great collabora- isi-
aldson’s ghts lik
tor, she plays an important role in acquisi- d
tions and promotional activity as well.
2015 Rachel Mills PFD
JULIA DONALDSON
WAS ONE OF THE BRANDS DEVELOPED LAST YEAR BY CATHRYN GREGORY
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