Harlequin seeks to be the HQ with new imprint

Harlequin is to create a new imprint, bringing all its trade publishing imprints into one place.

The new imprint will be called HQ. All of Harlequin’s current trade imprints, including adult fiction imprint Mira and YA imprint INK, will be replaced by HQ.

Mills & Boon, which is part of Harlequin, will not be affected.

The imprint, which carries the tagline “One Place. Many Stories”, hints at Harlequin’s aims to become the headquarters for a series of genres, including crime, book club and YA.

Staff across Harlequin’s editorial team will commission books for HQ, with Milton also looking to recruit a publishing director: fiction and a senior commissioning editor.

A number of books have already been acquired and will be published under HQ branding.

World English language rights to The Watcher by stage and screen actor Ross Armstrong were acquired as part of a two-book deal from Juliet Mushens at UTA. The Watcher, to be published in December 2016 in hardback, is a thriller set in London focusing on Lily, a keen birdwatcher who spies on her neighbours. One day she sees something suspicious, and shortly afterwards an elderly woman is found dead.

Harlequin has also acquired world all languages rights in two books by Helen Warner, who was previously published by Simon & Schuster and is director of daytime at ITV. The first book, The Story of Our Lives, is a novel about secrets, lies and female friendship and will be published in February 2017 in hardback. Rights acquired from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown.

Harlequin signed a three-book deal to TP Fielden’s crime series, which is set in the 1950s. Following journalist Miss Dimont, who finds herself embroiled in a double murder, the first book will be published in hardback in November 2016. UK and Commonwealth rights were signed from Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown.
 

The Watcher cover, showing a mock-up spine with the new HQ logo.