The Bookseller 150 is sponsored by Mosaic Executive Search
Steven Inchcoombe Springer Nature Chief publishing officer
Like many of his colleagues and competitors in academic publishing, Inchcoombe has been thinking deeply about the ramifications of Open Access and Plan S, the European open research initiative. Plan S might not be pretty for some in the game, Inchcoombe told this year’s FutureBook conference, particularly smaller and mid-sized play- ers. Inchcoombe fix has been what he has called a “radical shift to tranforma- tive publishers”, urging firms not to be “passive enablers” but “active drivers” of Open Access and research.
Charlie King Little, Brown Managing director
New Entry
King’s Little, Brown has made a few changes this year: Clare Smith was promoted to execu- tive publisher, and Ailah
Ahmed to publishing director across Little, Brown and Virago. A new literary imprint, The Bridge Street Press, was also launched, devoted to “ideas-led non- fiction”. Possibly looking to re-create the success of last year’s blockbuster Fire and Fury, this year Little, Brown again flouted the wishes of the US president by publishing a new tell-all about Donald Trump’s administration, A Warning.
Sara Lloyd Pan Macmillan Digital and communications director
This is Lloyd’s 25th year across the wider Macmillan family—she previously had roles at Nature and Palgrave—and throughout the years there were plenty of clever campaigns co-ordinated by her and her digital and comms teams, but none more so all-conquering than this year’s impossible-to-miss launch of Elton John’s Me, which not only got clicks and attention, but helped the book do the business at the tills. Her team was bolstered by freelance publicist Hannah Corbett joining in the newly created role of head of publicity.
Lisa Milton HQ Executive publisher
Milton’s HQ division launched at HarperCollins three years ago, and has kicked into high gear. The BOSH! boys solidified their place as vegan cookery superstars, Adele Parks has cemented her move to crime with Lies Lies Lies and Christina Dalcher’s VOX has been one of the most talked-about paperbacks of the year. A recent round of promotions saw Kate Mills stepping up to publisher and Manpreet Grewal to publishing director, while Abigail Fenton, who arrived from Bookouture earlier this year, was named editorial director at HQ Digital.
Louise Moore Michael Joseph Managing director
The all-conquering first tome from Instagram star Mrs Hinch, modestly titled Hinch Yourself Happy, was the huge breakout for Moore’s MJ this year, with the cleaning guru’s two titles shifting just under £4.5m and bagging four overall UK number ones. MJ’s usual big brands also pitched in: Jamie Oliver was bang on trend with Veg (£4m), Nadiya Hussain’s Time to Eat shifted 76,000 units, and the sainted Jojo “the saviour of Quick Reads” Moyes chipped in £1m. The celeb memoir hit, meanwhile, has been from Wham! man Andrew Ridgeley.
TheBookseller.com
Hilary Murray Hill Hachette Children’s Group Chief executive officer
A flat year in sales for HCG, but it made gains with Onjali Q Raúf’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winner The Boy at the Back of the Class and Matthew Syed’s Nibbies Children’s Illustrated & Non-Fiction Book of the Year, You Are Awesome. The Kes Gray/Jim Field Oi! series continued to surge, while feminist YA list Bellatrix launched with titles from Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Kit de Waal. HCG has done its bit for expanding its regional activity too, with the inau- gural £5,000 Hachette Children’s Novel Award for new Northern voices.
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Richard Kitson Hachette UK Deputy c.e.o.
Kitson, who assumed his position as deputy c.e.o. at the start of 2018 in the wake of Tim Hely Hutchinson’s exit, is chairman of Hachette Australia and New Zealand and is responsible for the publisher’s UK and inter- national sales, its digital, consumer insight and legal and contracts departments—and Neon Play. This year Hachette UK created a single Trade Publishing Operations unit, giving Kitson a new direct report in Ben Groves-Raines, the former chief operating officer of Orion and Little, Brown who in October became publishing operations director.
Sharmaine Lovegrove Dialogue Books Publisher
Lovegrove is at the front of publishing’s diversity discussion both in-house—she co-chairs Hachette’s inclusion network Changing the Story—and in the wider world with her campaigning voice. But her newish imprint is also getting trac- tion, led by razor-sharp commissioning, with 2019 hits including Jeffrey Boakye’s Black, Listed. Lovegrove also launched the inaugural Mo Siewcharran Prize, which gives a Dialogue book deal to an unpublished BAME writer. Sarvat Hasin won the gong this year, and her The Giant Dark will be published in 2021.
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