Raft of promotions at Pan Macmillan - BookBrunch

Raft of promotions at Pan Macmillan
    News - Publishing Friday, 19th February 2021

    PanMac announces 20 separate promotions across Children's, Picador, Pan, Bluebird and Production after
    publisher had 'second biggest year ever' in 2020

    Announcing the set of promotions this morning, the publisher released a bullish statement detailing the
    moves. 'After the challenging conditions of 2020 when Pan Macmillan showed its resilience and achieved its
    second biggest year ever, including eight overall No. 1s in the TCM chart, the publisher is delighted to
    announce promotions across the business.
    'The job changes at Macmillan Children’s Books, Pan, Bluebird and Picador, as well as in the publishing
    operations and digital communications teams, reflect the collaborative role that staff have played to enable
    the business to effectively adapt to the evolving circumstances, and recognise the breadth of talent and
    innovation.'
    The statement then went on to outline a series of changes in the children's division. 'Macmillan Children’s
    Books (MCB) MCB was up 11% last year in the UK TCM and, prior to that, had seven years of consecutive
    growth across UK and international markets combined. To continue to drive the growth plan, MCB is
    delighted to announce a series of well-deserved promotions across the editorial and design teams.
    'Sarah Vince becomes head of design, Campbell. Working alongside editorial director Deb Kespert, Vine has
    played a major part in driving Campbell to its next level of growth. She steers a fast-paced responsive list
    brilliantly through its critical path targets, and has brought a host of new talent to the list, demonstrating
    her creativity and innovative approach in new series such as My Little Green World.
    'Sophie McLoughlin is promoted to senior editor, Campbell. She joined six years ago and has become a
    pivotal member of the team. McLoughlin has worked on the successful Busy Books series from the
    beginning, and has skilfully managed large-scale ranges such as First Stories and First Explorers. She led the
    creation of the Campbell Axel Scheffler programme and, most recently, developed and wrote the My First
    Heroes role-model series.
    'Lydia Coventry becomes senior designer, MCB. Whether Coventry is designing a picture book in record time
    as with How Do You Make a Rainbow?, managing the design needs on Audio and Specials, or overseeing the

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design of our largest-ever physical book, The Gruffalo Advent Calendar Book, she has consistently had a
    hand in creating bestsellers. Most recently, she has worked with illustrator Diane Ewen on Floella Benjamin’s
    Coming to England picture book and has been crafting the new covers for Rebecca Cobb’s new picture book
    range.
    'Rachael Roberts has been promoted to assistant editor, Kingfisher. Roberts joined the imprint in August
    2018 through the Creative Access programme, becoming a permanent member of the team a year later. She
    has conceived and project managed Ultimate Gamer: Career Mode with great flair, created animated sales
    presentations, updated hundreds of fact-heavy titles at reprint, not to mention clocking up late nights
    playing Animal Crossing New Horizons while working on Kingfisher’s blockbusting guide to the game.
    'Cate Augustin has been promoted to senior editor, Fiction and Non-Fiction. Augustin has been working
    across the list for three years with a focus on fiction and non-fiction. She has a keen eye for commercial
    fiction and is a champion for underrepresented voices. She was a fundamental part of Pan Macmillan’s pitch
    for Marcus Rashford and will be publishing You Are A Champion: Unlock Your Potential, Find Your Voice and
    Be The Best You Can Be in May. She will continue to build on the success she has had with authors such as
    Radiya Hafiza, Rory Power and Alex T. Smith.
    'Helen Weir is promoted to senior editor. Weir has played a central role in the establishment and growth of
    the Two Hoots list, looking after key brands such as Goodnight Moon and Bethan Woollvin, as well as
    bringing new talent and ideas to the list: look out for The Queen’s Wardrobe in April. She also runs social
    media for Two Hoots single-handedly, and has taken the lead in company-wide events such as the Black
    British Illustrator evening with Dapo Adeola in 2019.
    'Amber Ivatt is promoted to senior publicity manager. Ivatt has been with the team since February 2018 and
    has led creative and successful campaigns for key authors including Chris Riddell, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Emily
    Gravett, Morag Hood and Tomi Adeyemi. Her commitment to authors and illustrators is second to none and
    her strong media contacts mean MCB has benefitted from increased consumer coverage since she joined.'
    Pan also saw a series of promotions: 'Following a record year in sales and the appointment of Lucy Hale in
    the new role of Pan Publisher in 2020, Pan Macmillan is announcing a range of promotions across Pan’s
    editorial team – responsible for the group’s commercial fiction and non-fiction – to consolidate the gains
    already achieved and to further develop its growth strategy.
    'Ingrid Connell, shortlisted for Editor of the Year at The British Book Awards last year, becomes publishing
    director in Pan’s non-fiction team. Connell has published some of Pan’s most successful non-fiction authors
    including Elton John, Louis Theroux and most recently The Yorkshire Shepherdess and is key to Pan’s pre-
    eminent position in the biography sector of the market. She will report to Lucy Hale.
    'Bella Pagan is promoted to publishing director in Pan’s fiction team. Bella will report to Lucy Hale, in
    acknowledgement of the importance of Pan’s speculative fiction (and of Tor UK, Pan’s genre-specific SFF
    imprint) in the continued growth and significant contribution to Pan's commercial fiction success in recent
    years.
    'Jayne Osborne becomes editor in Pan’s fiction team. Already working with some of Pan’s major brand fiction
    authors, she will now acquire fiction for the younger female market, with acquisitions such as The Twelve
    Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss, which came out in December 2020. Osborne reports to Trish Jackson,
    publishing director.
    'Matthew Cole is promoted to editor in Pan’s non-fiction team. Working closely with Robin Harvie on Pan’s
    business and sport lists, he will also be acquiring in the area of current affairs and politics, with the timely
    Broken Heartlands by Sebastian Payne to be published in September this year. Cole will report to Robin
    Harvie, non-fiction Publisher. Alice Grey and Georgia Summers are promoted to assistant editors with huge

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thanks for their hard work and good humour during challenging times.'
    Bluebird also saw a group of promotions. 'Bluebird achieved another record year of sales in 2020, and
    acquired an astonishing 42 new titles. To support and drive the imprint as it continues to grow Bluebird is
    announcing key promotions in the communications and editorial departments.
    'Jess Duffy is promoted to senior publicity manager. Duffy has been intrinsic to the success of Bluebird over
    the last couple of years. Her campaigns for Wean in 15, where she worked with Joe Wicks and his team to
    capitalise on the effect of PE With Joe, #1bestseller Tin Can Cook and follow up Good Food for Bad Days, Top
    10 Bestseller Where's My Happy Ending, and the just published Brown Baby have been particularly
    outstanding. Jess has also shown great skill in interviewing authors for events and played a key role in
    acquiring major authors like Mariella Frostrup and Vanessa Nakate.
    'Zainab Dawood becomes assistant editor for Bluebird and One Boat. Dawood joined Pan Macmillan as a
    Creative Access trainee two and a half years ago. In her time at Bluebird, she has impressed with her insight,
    writing and team spirit. She is also a published poet (Slam!). Dawood has contributed to pitches, presented
    books memorably at launch and been a linchpin on the team, coming at each task with creativity and careful
    analysis.'
    The team at Picador also saw changes. 'Picador's stellar year both in the UK and internationally means we
    are doubling down on our commitment to reach readers in ever-innovative and creative ways, continuing
    the imprint's growth and reputation.
    'Alice Dewing is promoted to senior comms manager. Dewing combines superb author care with an
    extraordinary ability to find every possible piece of publicity for a campaign. She delivered superb lockdown
    campaigns for bestselling authors including Emma Donoghue and John Cooper. She coordinated a huge
    campaign and tour for Mariam Khan and the contributors to It's Not About the Burqa. She has contributed
    significantly to the growth of the Picador Poetry list over recent years and with Emma Bravo has developed a
    wide range of strategic partnerships across Pan Macmillan.
    'Gaby Quattromini becomes communications manager. She has worked her combined marketing and
    publicity magic for high profile authors such as Olivia Laing and Gabriel Byrne, and has delivered stand out
    marketing campaigns for the Secret Barrister and John Cooper Clarke. Her NetGalley and online work for
    Before the Coffee Gets Cold and its sequel, Tales from the Cafe also deserve a special mention. In her new
    role, she will be working on high profile 360 campaigns for Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Michelle Zauner and
    Raven Leilani.'
    The Publishing operations division also saw a set of promotions. 'Giacomo Russo is promoted to senior
    production controller, within the Adult Production team. Having brilliantly handled complex and shifting
    priorities during a series of challenging months, he will now lead the production of Picador and Macmillan
    Collector’s Library, with responsibility for managing the relationships with other departments. He will also be
    responsible for liaising between art, editorial and printers to control new cover and book design concepts
    from a cost and quality perspective. Russo continues to report to Simon Rhodes, head of Adult Production.
    'Louise Drake becomes head of Analytics. Over the past few years, Drake has built up her excellent team and
    established Pan Macmillan’s operational capability for analytics, including the implementation of Tableau
    and the creation of the UK data mart in collaboration with Macmillan US. In her new role, she will focus on
    further development aligned to the business’ strategic priorities around growth, publishing and core
    process. Her key responsibilities also include increasing the efficiency of access to our data, providing up-to-
    date training and support, and continuing to lead the analytics team.'
    Finally, in Digital communications Marisa Davies is promoted to metadata manager. 'Since joining Pan in
    March 2017, Davies used her innovative analysis of metadata to reflect the needs of the different readers in

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the business’ audience segmentation, and her work on mobile has helped provide practical tools to improve
    online book sales. Her unflappability in the face of the ever-changing online retail environment has been
    invaluable, as has her ability to streamline processes and provide practical metadata advice.'
    Pictured: Newly-promoted publishing director at Pan, Bella Pagan

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