Andornino leaves Two Roads behind for W&N

Federico Andornino, currently editor at John Murray imprint Two Roads, is joining Weidenfeld & Nicolson's fiction team this September as commissioning editor. 

Andornino, who has been focusing on crossover and accessible literary fiction and translations, recently published The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan which sold over 250,000 copies across all formats, Italian crime writer Elena Varvello's Can You Hear Me?, recipient of the English PEN Award 2017, and graphic memoir The Arab of the Future by cartoonist and former Charlie Hebdo contributor Riad Sattouf.

Prior to joining Two Roads, Andornino was an editor for foreign fiction at Rizzoli where he worked on authors such as Chad Harbach and Erin Morgenstern, as well as Tea Obreht and Gillian Flynn, both of whom are also published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 

Lisa Highton, publisher of Two Roads, said the team would miss Andornino, whom she said has been "an integral part" of Two Roads' ongoing success. He joined the imprint as an editorial assistant in 2013, before becoming assistant editor in 2015 and editor in May. She also wished him well taking up a "great opportunity" within the Hachette family. 

In welcoming Andornino, Kirsty Dunseath, publisher at Weidenfeld & Nicolson, commented: "I have been so impressed by Federico’s energy, enthusiasm and his dynamic approach to his books. He will be a brilliant addition to our team and we very much look forward to working with him."

Andornino said he would be "eternally indebted" to Highton for "giving a young Italian the chance to join the Two Roads family".

"It’s been an extraordinary ride and I will miss everyone at John Murray Press," he said. "But after almost five years, I am ready for a new challenge and I am hugely excited about joining W&N, a list I’ve been admiring from afar from many years. I can’t wait to get started."