Evans succeeds Morpeth as Headline m.d.

Mari Evans has been appointed as the new managing director of Headline, with Jane Morpeth becoming chair of the group.

In their new roles, Evans will become responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, while Morpeth will work on growth strategies and with key authors.

Morpeth has been m.d of Headline for the past seven years, after joining the company as a commissioning editor in 1986, becoming deputy m.d. in 2006 and graduating to the post of managing director in 2009.

Evans joined Headline following a decade with Michael Joseph as publishing director for fiction in 2013, where she published authors including Harriet Evans, Alison Weir and David Duchovny. She was promoted to the role of deputy m.d. last July.

Both will start in their new roles on Tuesday (1st March).

Jamie Hodder-Williams said: "Jane and Mari are a brilliant team. This new arrangement means Jane will be able to spend more time working on Headline's growth strategy and publishing plans for key authors. In her new role as managing director, Mari becomes responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, and in addition to the editorial teams, the marketing, PR and designs teams will now also report to Mari."

Morpeth and Evans will continue to work closely to develop "exciting new plans" for Headline over the coming months, the company said.

These include the creation of a new imprint under Alex Clarke, formerly managing director for Michael Joseph.