Bonnier Books UK today launches its new digital-first imprint Embla Books, unveiling a logo and brand identity, and the tagline ‘Our lives are built on stories’. The new imprint will launch across all social platforms with the help of key UK book bloggers and influencers, as well as brand partnerships with iBeani and Teapigs.
Embla was conceived by digital and business development director Emilie Marneur, who joined Bonnier Books UK knowing she had found the right home for a digital-first imprint with the highest ambitions and quality. Led by publishing director Jane Snelgrove, Embla will publish standout commercial adult fiction – books that make you ‘laugh, love, look over your shoulder and lose sleep’.
Marneur said, ‘Digital publishing is highly competitive and sophisticated and we have worked hard to ensure that Embla Books stands out. Combining the long-term thinking of a 200-year-old family-owned publisher, with the insight and skill of an expert digital publishing team, our mission is to nurture a thoughtfully curated list of authors for long-term creative and commercial success. We feel very fortunate to be launching with a wonderful list of authors and will deliver creative, bold digital campaigns for each one of them in due course.’
Snelgrove said: ‘We’re delighted that it’s time to launch Embla Books into the world, and very excited about the stories we’re going to publish. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to build an exciting list of books from some extraordinary talent. We want Embla to become a home for many voices; publishing a broad, eclectic list that resonates with the experiences and passions of our readers.’
A strong opening slate of standout commercial adult fiction has been announced in recent months.
Laura Starkey’s ‘laugh-out-loud’ debut Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions will become the first book published under the Embla Books banner in September, shortly followed by the ‘spine-tingling’ supernatural crime thriller The Midnight Man from chart-topping author and former detective Caroline Mitchell, and Dandy Smith’s ‘heart-racing’ debut thriller One Small Mistake.
Other acquisitions for 2022 include the prize-winning journalist Trish Lorenz, with the opening instalment in a thriller series set in the Australian outback set to arrive in the autumn; two seasonal women’s fiction titles from the bestselling Lucy Coleman; and two romantic comedies from the award-winning Mandy Baggot.
Jane Snelgrove joined Bonnier Books UK at the start of 2021 following a successful spell helming Amazon Publishing’s UK crime and thriller imprint, Thomas & Mercer. Since then, Snelgrove has been joined by editorial director Hannah Smith – who published Andie Newton and Julie Houston at Head of Zeus – and head of marketing Jennifer Porter, who launched bestselling titles by Liane Moriarty and Alex North in her former role at Penguin Michael Joseph.
