The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

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Trollope's new hardback goes to Transworld

24.04.08 Alison Flood

Joanna Trollope is leaving her hardback publisher Bloomsbury for Transworld, which publishes her paperbacks. The deal, for one new hardback, was struck by Pat Kavanagh at United Agents. It comes barely a month after Trollope's editor and one of Bloomsbury's founders Liz Calder said she was stepping down from the publisher's board.

Her paperback editor Linda Evans, senior editorial director of Corgi and Black Swan at Transworld, is taking over from Calder as Trollope's primary editor. Evans said: "Joanna and we are not making any statement at all until her responsibilities towards Bloomsbury are over. That will be at the Hay Festival [22nd May-1st June]."

Bloomsbury has published Trollope in hardback since A Village Affair was signed in 1989 for an advance of just £2,500. Trollope's latest hardback, Friday Nights, was published by Bloomsbury in February and has sold 26,509 copies to date, according to Nielsen BookScan, bringing in £326,830 in revenue.

The news follows her long time editor Calder's decision to step down from the board. At the time, non-executive chairman Jeremy Wilson said that Calder would "very much remain with Bloomsbury, looking after her list of authors". Former Macmillan c.e.o. Richard Charkin, who joined Bloomsbury in October, now runs the publisher's trade division, with founder and c.e.o. Nigel Newton concentrating on its specialist, academic and reference publishing units. Bloomsbury did not comment on the news.

Bloomsbury's latest set of results showed an increase in sales of more than 100% in 2007 to £150m, largely thanks to the publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter novel.

Richard Charkin Transworld Bloomsbury Home Alison Flood Joanna Trollope Liz Calder