Sareeta's List honours the legacy of the late Sareeta Domingo

Sareeta Domingo’s sudden death last September sent shockwaves around the industry. An author and publishing director at Jacaranda Books, she had also worked at Hothouse Fiction, Harlequin and Mills & Boon before moving to Trapeze. And now, to honour her legacy, Jacaranda has created Sareeta’s List in tribute to her work. But how did the list come about?

“We were thinking of the ways in which we could commemorate her legacy, not just as an author, but as one of the best editors of the UK,” says Jacaranda’s publishing director for non-fiction, Magdalene Abraha.

“It was very important for us to continue with what she started. And that was ensuring that the list that she began became actualised and was published – and published well – her way, had she been here.

“Sareeta began that journey of commissioning them, and some of them weren’t signed on the dotted line, but she had made it abundantly clear that she wanted them. She was so passionate about all of them and had a bunch of ideas about how she wanted to roll them out in the UK.”

This time last year, the two colleagues were joint cover stars for The Bookseller’s Black issue – Domingo had just been headhunted to the newly created role of publishing director at Jacaranda and was named a Bookseller Rising Star in July for her contribution to “boundary-pushing fiction”. Now Jacaranda is unveiling the list in testament to her trailblazing vision with a curated selection of five to six books, publishing over the next two years, strikingly packaged and celebrating Domingo’s style.

Abraha continues: “At her time at the company, Sareeta commissioned a phenomenal list, which she did everywhere she went… it is an array of global international authors. For a lot of them, it’s their first time being published in the UK. And they span all parts of the globe.”

Commemoration

For Abraha, the list is about “commemorating just who she was, in many ways, and her dedication to uplifting and creating space for wonderful storytelling from all different parts of the world, and highlighting her legacy as an editor, as well as an author”.

Abraha notes one of Domingo’s skills was her being able to build rapport with her writers: “And the wonderful thing about this is that all of the authors feel so honoured to have been selected by her as well, because they were all such massive fans of both her as an author, but then also as a fantastic commissioning editor.”

The production will reflect Domingo’s legacy including her “love for big, bright, bold colours”. Each title will be published in hardback and marked with a distinctive golden Jacaranda leaf, signalling the first time the publisher’s logo has changed colour. The indie will also partner with retailer Bookshop.org to connect readers with the books.

The thing with Sareeta was she instantly knew if she liked something or did not, and in the most impressive way

Abraha believes the list reflects Domingo’s respected editorial judgement and authorial support. “One of the most moving parts of people grieving her were people who were talking about what she did for them in their writing career. And the thing with Sareeta was she instantly knew if she liked something or did not, and in the most impressive way. So in our editorial meetings she would read something and it was like ‘Yes’. It was instinctual. And obviously because she’s a fantastic fiction writer, it’s something that it almost seemed that she was born with, people were in awe of that… And her saying yes didn’t necessarily mean that something was perfect, which she knew exactly – she’d  just say: ‘Let’s develop it.’”

Abraha adds: “Sareeta’s List is bigger than just these books because there are so many writers that she’s commissioned, who are now published authors and exist in the industry and have had really enriching and wonderful careers as a result of her editorial eye.”

Dedicated campaign

The campaign will feature events including author readings beamed from countries such as India and America, supported by a dedicated publicity campaign and media engagement. In honour of Domingo’s values, a portion of proceeds from sales via the Jacaranda website will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières, supporting  humanitarian work around the world.

Though Domingo only formally became a member of staff last year, her connection with Jacaranda runs for far longer. Abraha first got to know her nine years ago. “Sareeta was actually a Jacaranda author,” she says. “And she worked on other titles for us on an editorial freelance basis as well before she even came on as a publishing director she edited some our most successful and commercial romance as well.”

But how is Jacaranda coping with the loss of Domingo? Abraha pauses: “Sareeta’s presence at Jacaranda was, it’s impossible to quantify… It was really difficult for the team because at Jacaranda we do feel like a family and everybody looked up to and adored Sareeta. She was the most fashionable, the most intelligent and genuinely the most phenomenal editor to have on the team.

And everybody just had such an air of adoration and respect for her. So the loss hit us very hard.“And definitely our staff have been inspired by her – and the industry as a whole has, too. Commemorating Sareeta’s legacy, for us at Jacaranda, has now become a forever North Star.”