The Bookseller.com

20th July 2008

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Redundancies at Kingfisher

06.12.07 Caroline Horn

Macmillan Children's Books has made a quarter of staff at Kingfisher redundant following its acquisition of the children's fiction and non-fiction publisher in October.

The 12 redundancies have fallen mainly across sales and marketing operations, and include sales and marketing director Katherine Potter. Kingfisher's UK sales operation will be integrated into MCB's existing sales team by the new year, said MCB m.d. Emma Hopkin, although Kingfisher will retain a separate rights and coeditions team.

The remaining 35 Kingfisher staff will move to Macmillan's building in Crinan Street, London N1, in January. The fiction team will report to Macmillan publishing director Rebecca McNally. The non-fiction team, headed by publisher Melissa Fairley, will report to Hopkin.

Macmillan plans to keep the Kingfisher imprint distinct, and to maintain its fiction and non-fiction publishing. Kingfisher's backlist includes about 1,000 titles, with around 100 new titles published each year. Its £11m turnover will increase MCB's turnover by around one third.

"It's very exciting to have a new team of people and to be able to invest in their publishing, and to market it and sell it to a much higher degree than has been done before," Hopkin said.

Kingfisher's non-fiction list is series-driven, with ranges including Kingfisher Knowledge and Kingfisher Atlases. It sells strongly into regions such as Asia, Mexico, Germany, France and Poland.
"There are plenty of opportunities to take the content online, and we will be looking at new ways to present the non-fiction," Hopkin said.

The fiction list, which includes series such as Cathy Hopkins' Zodiac Girls, will provide an outlet for more mass market series, she added.

Kingfisher was previously part of Houghton Mifflin and was managed from the US.

Caroline Horn Macmillan children's Kingfisher