Hachette UK to make Dialogue Books a standalone division
The publisher and founder of Dialogue Books, currently an imprint of Little, Brown, is being promoted to managing director and joining the board of Hachette UK.
In 2017, Lovegrove founded Dialogue Books to champion inclusivity, publish marginalised voices and reach consumers from audience groups not traditionally served by mainstream publishers.
As a division of Hachette UK, it will now have two imprints: Dialogue Books, publishing upmarket, literary fiction and non-fiction, and a new, yet-unnamed imprint focused on commercial and mass-market titles.
By 2026, it will publish around 80 new titles a year on a significantly expanded scale, increasing its output rapidly. Dialogue Books will also include an advisory board made up of individuals from a range of sectors who have a keen interest in literature and are engaged in innovation. They will be committed to inclusion.
Upon her return from parental leave, Lovegrove will take over her new role on 1st September, and the new division will have its own editorial, marketing, and publicity departments. Charlie King will become executive chair of Dialogue, in addition to his role as m.d. of Little, Brown.
I am deeply humbled and extremely motivated to take up the position of managing director of Dialogue Books,” Lovegrove said. ”The focus on the division will be on innovation, inspiration and inclusion, building on areas we have excelled in culturally as an imprint and growing exponentially in terms of team, authors, genres and routes to readers.
“I’m excited to continue working with Charlie King, who has been instrumental in Dialogue’s ongoing success and has believed in me since we met. I am delighted that my hard work and commitment to publishing for everyone, everywhere, is the key driver for my position on the Hachette UK Board, where I hope to make a meaningful contribution to all areas of the business.
King said: “Dialogue Books has added a huge amount to our business – creatively, culturally and commercially – over the past five years, as of course has Sharmaine herself. I am enormously proud that Dialogue is to become a separate division of Hachette. I look forward to supporting and working alongside Sharmaine and her team as they embark on this exciting new stage of their journey.”
The CEO of Hachette UK, David Shelley, said: “Dialogue has had a spectacular first five years, and I am excited about the future of the division.” Sharmaine is dynamic, inspirational and keenly attuned to the tastes of readers everywhere – including those previously ill-served by our industry – and I know that she will lead Dialogue to new heights. I am also really pleased that she will be joining the Hachette UK board, where I know she will make a terrific contribution.”
Source: The Bookseller Magazine