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FMcM Associates is an award-winning arts communications consultancy with an impressive client list and a big reputation. Founded in 1998 by Fiona McMorrough, it represents some of the most inspiring organisations and individuals in the arts today.
EDITOR OF THE YEAR CAROLE TONKINSON
THE SHORTLIST
WINNER Carole Tonkinson BLUEBIRD
Emad Akhtar ORION
Fenella Bates MICHAEL JOSEPH
Ingrid Connell PAN MACMILLAN
Becky Hardie VINTAGE
Alexis Kirschbaum BLOOMSBURY
Kate Mills HQ
Simon Prosser HAMISH HAMILTON
Nick Sayers HODDER
I
t is no exaggeration to say that Carole Tonkinson’s Bluebird has revitalised Pan Macmillan and lifestyle publish- ing. Just four years on from launch,
it was the 14th biggest imprint in the trade in 2019—a remarkable achievement for a list comprised of Tonkinson and a very small team, and that publishes fewer than 20 books a year. Tonkinson’s stellar year owed more to one
book than any other. Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone’s Pinch of Nom was 2019’s top title and the fastest-selling non-fiction book since Nielsen BookScan records began, taking less than eight months to sell a million copies. It is a prime example of Tonkinson’s imaginative commissioning of lesser-known personalities, and her understanding of what UK consumers, not just core book buyers, are looking for. She had several more food and drink hits last year, including Jack Monroe’s Tin Can Cook. In
sustaining momentum for Joe Wicks she showed again how to realise the full potential of her authors. But she also led Bluebird into new direc- tions, like meditation with Owen O’Kane’s Ten to Zen and female empowerment with Melinda Gates’ The Moment of Lift, and has teed up a new environmental imprint for 2020. Several other big publishers have tried to emulate Bluebird’s success in lifestyle genres, but none has had Tonkinson’s hit rate nor the clarity of vision in her list-building. She is clearly revered by those on her list,
and admired by colleagues. “I’ve never known a more hands-on, wonderful, kind, involved editor… I can’t thank her enough,” said one author; “quite simply a genius,” adds a Pan Mac colleague. The judges were just as impressed. “She’s forward-thinking and visionary, and has reached astonishing levels of success,” they said. “Her list has come of age, and is here to last.”
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