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Titchmarsh gets serious

16.07.08 Catherine Neilan

Hodder & Stoughton is planning “a lavish production” to repackage Alan Titchmarsh as a more serious novelist after poaching him from Simon & Schuster last April.

Rowena Webb, publishing director at Hodder & Stoughton, said the new look for Folly, Titchmarsh’s latest novel, better reflected his writing. The book will be published in hardback on 2nd October.

“We are changing the style from when he was published at Simon & Schuster, which was quite jokey,” she said. “Ours is much more into Maeve Binchy territory, with a gorgeous landscape jacket. Going towards Christmas, we will be doing a special package for Alan, with a belly band around the jacket as an add-on, and a –special message on the band.”

Webb explained the move was designed to bring him to a broader market. “We took him on because we thought we could bring him to a new level with a more ambitious book, which he has delivered,” she said.

She described the book as “multi-–generational, full of twists and turns and intrigue”. “We really believe in Alan as a serious novelist, not just a writer of celeb–rity novels,” she said. “Also, I think this is the first time in hardback for the Christmas season, so we want him looking gorgeous. With the addition of belly bands and other effects, it will be a lavish production.”

Alongside the new design, H&S is planning a marketing campaign focused on the female “British heartland” readership. It will carry out a combination of interviews with the likes of the Daily Express and Good Housekeeping, as well as “trolley media” campaigns in Sainsbury’s supermarkets.

Charlotte Merritt, marketing manager at the publisher, explained: “We are wanting to evoke the experience of reading one of Alan’s novels—which is that it is perfect for a winter’s evening. We will very much focus on that to entice people to buy it.”

The firm will also take marketing online, including an author video clips.

Books Alan Titchmarsh Simon and Schuster Catherine Neilan

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