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EDITOR OF THE YEAR
OVERVIEW For the second year in a row, every editor on this shortlist appears at the British Book time—testament to the depth of editorial talent in UK publishing. The all-female list spans and more, and showcases the ability of editors to balance passion, taste, commercial nous and author care. What they also have in common is the very high regard in which they are held by authors, agents and colleagues alike.
NATASHA BARDON From intern to publisher, Natasha Bardon has moved rapidly up the HarperCollins ranks. She is the editor behind stars of the HarperVoyager sci-fi and fantasy list, including Jay Kristoff and Blackwell’s Book of the Year winner R F Kuang, and in 2022 she launched YA list Magpie Books. She is also the brains behind new subscription service The Locked Library.
MOLLY CRAWFORD Simon & Schuster’s senior commissioning editor is the publisher steering mega- selling author Colleen Hoover. While Hoover’s backlist landed at her feet, she plucked out another TikTok sensation in Elena Armas. With a good eye for books that have global as well as domestic appeal, she has also diversified the range of voices on S&S’ flourishing fiction list.
BELLA PAGAN Bella Pagan, publisher at Pan Macmillan’s Tor UK, has been at the heart of speculative fiction for 20 years. She more than doubled the imprint’s TCM sales in 2022 and audio, e-book and rights sales soared too. Four of her books, including two by Olivie Blake, hit The Bookseller’s bestseller lists, and she did more good work to diversify the sci-fi and fantasy author roster.
ELEANOR RUSSELL Piatkus’ editorial director gave parent group Little, Brown a stellar 2022 in romance fiction. Her highlights included Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books and the Twisted series by Ana Huang (pictured), both of which shifted around a million copies last year. She has harnessed the power of TikTok in romance and established Piatkus as a go-to imprint for authors in the genre.
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RACHEL WADE As editorial director at Hachette Children’s Group’s fiction list, Rachel Wade is the engine behind the phenomenal success of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series. Her wide- ranging titles have ramped up Hachette’s illustrated sales and she is a superb collaborator with creators and colleagues. “A shining star who makes the editing process a joy,” said one author.
SHADI DOOSTDAR Oneworld had its best ever year in 2022, thanks in large part to a doubling of sales at children’s imprint Rock the Boat. Under editorial director Shadi Doostdar and her small team, it has become a distinc- tive and diverse list, taking punts on books that larger publishers would not. Kathleen Glasgow’s TikTok-powered Girl in Pieces was the standout performer last year.
SUSANNAH OTTER Blink’s publishing director had an impressive hit rate in 2022, with Tom Bower’s Revenge one of several Sunday Times bestsellers helmed by Susannah Otter. Work on that and posthumous memoirs by Tom Parker and Sarah Hughes showed her care. “Susannah’s commercial nous is unrivalled in non-fiction publishing and matched by her sensitivity,” said one agent.
JASMINE RICHARDS As founder and editorial direc- tor of kids’ fiction development studio Storymix—winner of the 2022 FutureBook Start-up Award—Jasmine Richards is a reminder of the value of editing in the packaged sector. Her concept development has helped publishers increase the characters of colour in their lists, and she has nurtured creatives from underrepre- sented backgrounds, too.
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