New role for Willis in Transworld return

Ben Willis is to leave Headline to join Transworld, where he started his publishing career, in the newly created role of head of Transworld digital publicity.

Willis is currently senior publicity and digital campaigns manager at Headline, where he launched the book blogger resource site bookbridgr and handled the campaign for A S A Harrison’s The Silent Wife, for which he won Publicity Campaign of the Year at the Bookseller Industry Awards 2014.

He was also named a Rising Star by The Bookseller this year.

In his new role Willis will work across the whole of Transworld’s list, with responsibility for innovating and leading the wider publicity team and company “using new digital publicity initiatives and traditional campaign strategies to promote authors to an evolving audience”.

He will start in January 2015, reporting to Alison Barrow, director of media relations.

Barrow said: “We are all truly thrilled at the prospect of working with Ben and benefitting especially from his considerable expertise in digital PR. His energy, enthusiasm and creativity is recognised across the industry and it is very exciting that he will bring that flair to work again with our authors alongside our clever and brilliant team.”

Willis said: “I'm incredibly excited to be joining Transworld - their passion, enthusiasm and creativity in publishing debut, developing and brand authors is outstanding, and I can't wait to get started.”

Willis started his career at Transworld, before moving in 2011 to join Headline, where he has worked with authors including Omid Djalili, Luis Suarez, Lisa Gardner and Simon Scarrow.