Rights Professional of the Year
Rights Professional of the Year Winner and Shortlist
Proudly sponsored by the Sharjah Book Authority
In a flat home market, rights sales were essential to publishers’ growth, but conditions were tough in many territories—especially those where English language editions encroached. These ten teams and individuals—six from publishers and four from agencies—wrung every bit of potential out of their rights and were particularly good at spotting new opportunities in old titles.
Winner
Amy Fletcher and Ben Phillips
Simon & Schuster Adult Rights Team
After just one full year as a dedicated adult rights team, Simon & Schuster’s dynamic duo of Amy Fletcher (adult rights director) and Ben Phillips (adult rights manager) have generated a phenomenal volume of business. They wrapped up more than 600 deals in 2024, doubled rights income and nearly quadrupled translation deals despite tough conditions and competition from English language export editions in many markets.
There were 20-plus deals apiece for Tara K Menon, AF Steadman and several others, a hatful of six-figure contracts for debuts and exponential growth in key European countries. These were the results of a carefully strategised approach that moved away from co-agenting to direct handling of markets. It also put S&S authors at the core, connecting them to overseas publishers, retailers and media via bespoke marketing, exclusive content and – an increasing rarity – international author tours.
It is a strenuous amount of work, but everything is handled with calm diligence and excellent author care. In between all this, Fletcher and Phillips found time for some excellent extra-curricular work in 2024, like mentoring and donations of overstock to the Children’s Book Project, Book Aid and KidsOut.
“Amy and Ben have got the adult team off to a flying start and they obviously have a great way of working together,” said the judges. “There’s a clear strategy and good market awareness, and the author-led approach is brilliant… you feel like you want to be part of their team.”
The Shortlist
Isabella Depiazzi
Granta
Granta’s rights director Isabella Depiazzi is shortlisted for the second time in a row after another record year of rights sales. Single-handedly she’s put rights at the core of Granta’s planning and has more than doubled income since arriving in 2021. On the frontlist there were multiple deals for Mark Rowlands, and new contracts for Diana Athill’s books showed her eye for backlist opportunities.
Sharon Miller Gold
Bonnier Books UK
Sharon Miller Gold, rights director of Bonnier Books UK children’s division, has led her five-strong team to four successive years of growth. Seb Braun’s Baby on Board series was a standout in 2024, and the team carved out some new channels like TikTok rights deals and added more foreign languages. Publishing partners value her empathy; “She’s a rare professional and a great person,” said one.
Amy Mitchell & Georgie Le Grice
United Agents
“The ultimate dynamic duo,” said one scout of United Agents’ foreign rights agents Amy Mitchell and Georgie Le Grice. It’s a partnership that divides into fiction and non-fiction and plays to strengths. New books getting big deals in 2024 included Claire Daverley’s debut Talking at Night and Jules Howard’s Infinite Life—but just as much effort went into mining the rights of backlists and literary estates.
Erin Murgatroyd
Nosy Crow
Erin Murgatroyd joined Nosy Crow as an assistant with no publishing experience seven years ago; now she’s rights director at one of the best-known and fastest-growing children’s publishers around. Murgatroyd and her team of six made rights and coeditions worth around half of its sales in 2024. As well as travelling to ten countries to nurture big partnerships, she carved out many new smaller markets.
Valentina Paulmichl
Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency
The Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency’s head of rights Valentina Paulmichl has substantially increased international deals since arriving three years ago. She closed around 300 deals for 50 authors in 2024, capitalising on the wave of interest in fantasy in particular. “She’s dedicated, inspired, caring, and always incredibly helpful and creative—I can’t praise her enough,” said one publisher.
Peters, Fraser and Dunlop Adult Rights Team
Peters, Fraser and Dunlop
The PFD team of Rebecca Wearmouth, Lucy Barry, Antonia Kasoulidou, Alice Thornton-Dorkofikis and Zara Petranova increased rights deals by 17% in 2024. They steered a major project to squeeze new business from the catalogue of Danielle Steel, while newer names with multiple contracts included Jiyoung Kang. There were activities to celebrate PFD’s 100th anniversary too.
Tracy Phillips
Hachette Children's Group
Hachette Children's Group provided last year’s Rights Professional of the Year in Karen Lawler; could this be the year for her colleague Tracy Phillips, after four previous shortlistings? She and her team of 11 did more than a thousand deals in 2024 and pushed up coedition sales and profitability. One overseas publisher called her “Unflappable, warm and gracious… the ultimate rights professional.”
Simon & Schuster Adult Rights Team
Simon & Schuster
For a team of two, Simon & Schuster’s Amy Fletcher and Ben Phillips achieved a remarkable amount in their first year as a dedicated adult rights team. They struck around 600 deals, including more than 20 apiece for Tara K Menon, AF Steadman and Bruce Hood. Key to success was connecting authors directly to publishers around the world to whip up interest.
Liane-Louise Smith
The Blair Partnership
Liane-Louise Smith has made an instant impact since joining The Blair Partnership in late 2023. She’s fired up the international side of the business, multiplying deals for authors including Robert Galbraith, whipped up deals in 30 languages for Clare Leslie Hall’s Broken Country, and transformed the careers of many more lesser-known names. Editors around the world admire her knowledge and passion.
Hannah Stokes
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury’s head of adult rights Hannah Stokes juggles team leadership and a very wide range of rights, and in 2024 added in the task of integrating the large Head of Zeus list and launching a rights website. There was a big jump in coedition and translation deals—many of them handled direct by Stokes, with Germany a hotspot. There were also big numbers for the Gillian Anderson-curated Want.
