Tim Whiting, currently executive publisher at the Piatkus Constable Robinson division of Little Brown, has been appointed managing director of Bonnier Books UK’s newly created adult trade division.
In this new role, Whiting will oversee the growth of Edinburgh-based Black & White led by Campbell Brown and music imprint Nine Eight led by Pete Selby, as well as two new start-ups: the as-yet- unamed Dublin-based Irish imprint led by Deirdre Nolan and non-fiction imprint led by Sarah Braybrooke.
Whiting has more than two decades’ industry experience and has been at Hachette since 2008. As executive publisher of PCR and the recent start-up imprint The Bridge Street Press, Whiting led the unification of the Piatkus and C&R editorial teams into one publishing division within Little, Brown and has overseen growth for the combined business, delivering a record year in 2021. Whiting also co-founded Little, Brown’s Equality Working Party.
Whiting has published a number of bestsellers in the UK and globally, including How to Make the World Add Up and The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford, If This is a Woman by Sarah Helm, The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff.
Whiting’s division will run alongside Bonnier Books UK’s existing adult trade division led by managing director Kate Parkin and comprising Blink Publishing, Heligo Books, John Blake, Lagom, Manilla Press and Zaffre.
Bonnier Books UK’s digital-first imprint, Embla Books, will continue under the leadership of Director of Audience and Business Development, Emilie Marneur. Footnote Press will continue to run independently of the two divisions, with managing director Vidisha Biswas reporting directly into Bonnier Books UK CEO Perminder Mann.
Whiting said: “There is a fantastic vibe around Bonnier Books UK and their plans for growth are compelling. While I shall miss my colleagues at Little, Brown greatly, I could not turn down the opportunity to forge and grow a new division within such a dynamic and fast-moving player in UK publishing. As managing director, I look forward to working with Perminder and the team to build an industry-leading stable of authors.”
Perminder Mann, CEO, Bonnier Books UK, added: “Our adult trade publishing has continued to go from strength to strength in recent years under the solid leadership of Kate Parkin. Buoyed by this success and with the strong support of our parent group in Sweden, we’ve recognised it’s time to start something new. An energetic and inclusive leader with a winning blend of creativity and commercial awareness, I believe Tim is the perfect candidate to help us realise our ambitious plans for the future.”
Charlie King, Managing Director, Little, Brown Book Group, commented: “Tim has made an enormous contribution to Little, Brown during his time with us, publishing some of our biggest books of recent years and leading an exceptionally high-performing Piatkus Constable Robinson team. We will miss him greatly as a colleague and friend, and he leaves with our heartfelt thanks and admiration. We wish him all the best in his new endeavour at Bonnier”.
Whiting will join the company in September, reporting into Mann.
