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Bonnier's new publishing initiative, headed by former Bloomsbury Group editor-in-chief Sarah Odedina, will be called Hot Key Books, and aims to have its first books published in time for the Christmas market.
Odedina, who is already acquiring titles, expects to have a full publishing team of 12 to 14 staff in place by January. She is currently recruiting for key positions including a publisher, sales and marketing director and editorial director for print and digital publishing.
Odedina said: "I have had an amazing response from so many well-known and hugely talented people and I'm looking forward to building an exciting, dynamic team." The company will publish 30 to 50 titles a year and will focus on fiction for nine- to 19-year-olds. Odedina said the list would be author-driven. "When I am acquiring, I look for authors and authors' voices. Books like Holes and A Gathering Light were special books that became big prizewinners. I hope this list will have that kind of relationship with authors," she said.
The crossover market will also be important to the publisher, she added. "I think there are lots of wonderful books that will appeal as much to a 17-year-old as a 27-year-old." The company's digital strategy will also be established early on, said Odedina.
"Digital publishing is our future, as it is for everyone, so our editorial director for print and digital publishing will be a key appointment. Of course everything will go straight to e-book, but we also hope to do something fresh and original in this area."