Publishing chief discusses how the rise of the ebook has affected the industry, the value of a good cover design and why there is no glass ceiling in the sectorTell us a bit about your role at Penguin and how you got there.I am the managing director of Penguin General Books, which is one of seven adult divisions within the newly formed Penguin Random House publishing conglomerate. Our authors include novelists Zadie Smith, Colm Toibin, Nick Hornby, John le Carre, Zoe Heller, Jonathan Coe, Jonathan Safran Foer, Mohsin Hamid, Penelope Lively, India Knight, Ali Smith, Dave Eggers, Marina Lewycka and non-fiction writers such as Antony Beevor, Clare Balding, Claire Tomalin and Alain de Botton.I've been running Penguin General for four years and before that I was marketing and publicity director across all of Penguin Publishing. I've been at Penguin for just over 15 years in total and before that I had a very brief spell as editor of the Sunday Telegraph magazine, was marketing and publicity director at the then small independent publisher Fourth Estate (now part of Harper Collins) and began my career as a book publicist at Heinemann.The rise of the ebook has brought about enormous changes to the publishing industry in recent years. How has Penguin responded to this?Penguin published the first ebooks in the UK very early in the 21st century and well before most readers knew they wanted to consume books this way. Penguin's ebook sales now account for about 12% of total... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 08:00 Viking has been scanning the local papers and choosing the most eyebrow-raising headlinesoften for all the wrong reasonsin a tribute to the quirky world of slow news days. Whitstable Mum in Custard Shortage . . And... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 15:24 Penguin's ebook sales have doubled in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, its parent company Pearson revealed in a statement today (28th April). In its interim management statement covering the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 11:25 HarperCollins has acquired three novels from debut historical fiction author Joanna Hickson. HarperFiction commissioning editor Kate Bradley bought world rights through Jenny Brown at Jenny Brown Associates, with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 27/04/2011 - 08:40 Penguin USA is to launch a community website for genre writers called Book Country (bookcountry.com). The site began a public beta test this week and describes itself as "a place where readers and writers of genre fiction... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the days after Sidney Harmans death (due to leukemia complications) on April 13th, the media speculated who would replace him in the role of Newsweek chairman. General responses to the question maintained that the position would remain in the family. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 08:30 Penguin is topping the table with an industry-leading six nominations in the 2011 Bookseller Industry Awards. Following closely behind in the nomination league tables are HarperCollins and Hodder & Stoughton, both listed... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad network Specific Media has appointed Fox Networks Group's Graeme Lynch as its new UK publisher services director. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 25/03/2011 - 08:33 Penguin has bought what promises to be a "riveting" account of one of the biggest murder cases in Northern Ireland, featuring infidelity, laughing gas and a confession 20 years after the event. Penguin Ireland m.d.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 23/03/2011 - 11:58 A third of UK trade publishers think that over 10% of their total book revenue will come from ebooks by 2012, according to new research released by Publishing Technology at BMLs annual Books & Consumers Conference. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Society of Magazine editors today unveiled the winners of its second-ever Digital Ellies awards. Conde Nast's Epicurious took the award in the General Excellence category as well as top honors in the category of Interactive Tool. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 16:23 Atlantic Books has made five positions redundant, including commercial director Daniel Scott, a cut of around 15% to the 34-strong staff. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 10/03/2011 - 15:15 James, Aunts Spiker and Sponge, as well as the Centipede, Ladybird and Earthworm will be celebrated this spring as Puffin publishes a 50th anniversary edition of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and launches a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 07/03/2011 - 09:03 Penguin is to treble its investment in digital content in 2011 compared to 2010, as both Pearson and Bloomsbury cited a leap in digital sales as a key reason for growth in their interim full-year results, released last... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 28/02/2011 - 09:42 Penguin UK had its best ever year in 2010 as parent company Pearson reported a profits increase of 21% to £857m. For the year ending 31st December, sales at Pearson were £5.66bn, up 10% on 2009. Sales at Penguin were... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 24/02/2011 - 09:39 Weidenfeld & Nicolson has bought rights to an illustrated memoir by actress Joanna Lumley, which will be published this autumn. Michael Dover, Orion's outgoing non-fiction editorial in chief bought world rights from Anthony... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 07:00 Penguin and Hachette were the big winners at the Publishers Publicity Circle awards, each coming away with three awards. The ceremony was held at Dolada in central London last night (15th February); the awards are given to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publisher Future, owner of Total Film and Classic Rock, has appointed former media investment banker Manjit Wolstenholme as non-executive director. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page A new Media and Entertainment group has been created within Penguin Childrens Books under newly promoted publishing director Eric Huang. The group combines the BBC Children's, Sunbird and Ladybird licensing teams. Penguin Children's Books m.d. Francesca Dow said... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Penguin has been appointed the exclusive publisher for Sainsbury's Book Club, providing all titles in the promotion between July 2011 and July 2012. Authors set to feature in the club include Marian Keyes, Clive Cussler, Jeff Kinney and Rick Riordan, with exact... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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