The Bookseller.com

1st December 2008

Hachette sets up in Scotland

30.04.08 Jo Young

Hachette Livre UK has launched a new imprint, Hachette Books Scotland (HBS), which will publish a small list of specialist Scottish fiction and non-fiction titles.

The newly-formed division will be headed up by Bob McDevitt as publisher. McDevitt, who was previously Hodder Headline's Scottish publishing scout, will be supported by Wendy McCance and report to Martin Neild in London. He will be responsible for the sales and marketing of HBS titles in Scotland, and will co-ordinate their distribution in the rest of the UK with the Headline sales force. He will also continue to look for suitable projects to co-publish with other Hachette Livre companies.

The launch of the new division follows the establishment of Hachette Book Group Ireland in January, formed from Hodder Headline Ireland and Little, Brown Ireland, now the country's largest publishing group.

The idea behind the formation of the new Scottish imprint, said McDevitt, was to focus on developing Scottish writers within Scotland, avoiding the problems and costs of promoting new titles across the UK.

"We thought it made sense to target the Scottish market. There will still be a market for Scottish books to go to stores in the UK, but we are trying to be realistic. It's so difficult to launch new titles in the UK at a high level and to secure promotion slots, so we think it makes sense to get the ball rolling for Scottish books within the Scottish market and media first," he said.

HBS will publish a list of around 10 to 12 commercial titles per year, specialising in sport, cookery and lifestyle, autobiographies, humour and history, as well as fiction.

"The message is that these will be fairly commercial books, but that's where you need to go to make the numbers work," said McDevitt.

HPS will publish its first title Caledonication, a lighthearted Scottish history book by John K V Eunson, in December. Other titles commissioned so far include Glasgow lawyer G J Moffat's début novel, Daisychain, a cookery title from Scottish chef Sue Lawrence and the autobiography of singer and actress Barbara Dickson.

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