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It is proving to be a good day for woman in publishing, as the Queen has decided to celebrate two female stalwarts of British publishing in her New Year Honours list.
Diana Athill, the veteran literary editor, novelist and memoirist who has worked in publishing for half a century has been awarded an OBE for services to literature. Meanwhile, Victoria Barnsley, chief executive and publisher of HarperCollins UK, is to receive an OBE for services to the publishing industry
Born in 1917, Athill has worked with some of the most influential and revered writers of the 20th Century, including Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, Jean Rhys, Simone de Beauvoir, John Updike and V.S Naipaul. Despite retiring in 1993, at the age of 75, Athill's influence on the publishing world has remained through her novels and revealing memoirs.
Victoria Barnsley, chief executive and publisher of HarperCollins UK, told The Bookseller that she was "surprised and delighted” with the honour. Barnsley added that she would accept the OBE on behalf of the many brilliant authors she has been “lucky enough” to work with during her 30-year publishing career.
In 1984, Barnsley founded Fourth Estate, where she worked as chair and managing director. Fourth Estate, went on to become the first ever winner of The Sunday Times Small Publisher of the Year award in 1988. In 1996 it was also named Publisher of the Year at The British Book Awards.
After Fourth Estate was acquired by HarperCollins Worldwide, Barnsley was appointed chief executive and publisher of HarperCollins UK in July 2000. During which time HarperCollins was also named Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards, making Barnsley the only c.e.o. and publisher to have won this award twice.
Barnsley also sits on the Worldwide Board of HarperCollins Publishers Inc and is Chair of HarperCollins India. In 2004 Barnsley was the only woman shortlisted for the Business Leader of the Year Award at the National Business Awards.
A friend of the arts, Barnsley has been a trustee of the Tate since 1998 and in May 2005 also became a Trustee of the National Gallery and a Fellow of UCL.