SPONSOR


DESCRIPTION


  


RIGHTS PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR JESSICA NEALE


THE SHORTLIST


Mary Darby DARLEY ANDERSON LITERARY, TV AND FILM AGENCY


Alice Grigg


PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE CHILDRENS


Richard King BOOKOUTURE


PFD Adult Rights Team


Tracy Phillips HACHETTE CHILDRENS GROUP


Charlotte Staley HARRIMAN HOUSE


Thames & Hudson International Rights Team


A


fter a joint win for Canongate’s senior rights manager Caroline Clarke in 2021, the independent publisher’s rights and contracts director Jessica


Neale is this year’s Rights Professional of the Year. Ten years into her work at Canongate, Neale


steered a trebling of rights income in 2021 from a record total of nearly 300 deals—all achieved with a team of just three full-time staff. The snowballing global popularity of Matt Haig led to dozens of contracts, and there were many more frontlist contributors besides, among them Ruth Ozeki’s Women’s Prize-shortlisted The Book of Form and Emptiness, William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin’s The Dark Remains and Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan’s Faith, Hope and Carnage. But nearly two-thirds of all agreements were for backlist titles—testament to the rights team’s eye for fresh opportunities. Neale herself secured deals in her key territories, including


North America, and handled the integration of Severn House’s rights activity after Canongate’s acquisition of the business. Canongate’s record results have come despite


the pandemic and the absence of travel and book fairs—or perhaps because of it. Neale’s team was quick to pivot (very successfully) to virtual trading during the pandemic, making good use of digital rights guides and new-title showcases. Beyond her day job, she has been instrumental in Canongate’s good work on diversity and inclu- sion and staff wellbeing too. “Jessica is a very well-rounded rights profes-


sional who delivers consistently great results, and she excelled herself last year,” the judges said. “Canongate’s rights team could rest on Matt Haig’s laurels, but she makes sure they never do. It’s become an international powerhouse… The breadth of activity and sheer energy that goes into it is amazing.”


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