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Three Rising Stars reveal how the nod affected their publishing journeys
Three recent alumni of The Bookseller’s annual Rising Stars listing—the definitive roster of the book trade’s up-and-coming talent—reflect on how their careers were altered by the recognition, as entries for this year’s class open.
Gráinne Clear
Walker Books, Senior commissioning editor
Class of 2017
Gráinne Clear was made a Rising Star while publishing manager and art director at Dublin’s “small but mighty” children’s indie Little Island. Two years later, she crossed the Irish Sea to take up a senior editor maternity cover at Walker, but was soon given a permanent post. She was promoted to her current role, senior commissioning editor, last year.
Has the Rising Stars been useful for you?
I can say honestly that being chosen as a Rising Star was hugely influential, and that it happened at just the right moment in my professional life. The main impact was psychological: a confidence boost that came from realising that I was doing something right, that enthusiasm and hard work was paying off, and that peers were noticing.
When people within your industry go out of their way to elevate you, it’s a hugely powerful thing, and I felt buoyed for years afterwards. The personal and professional connections that resulted from being on the list were also invaluable, as was the truly unforgettable trip to Frankfurt Book Fair as the Rising Stars representative that year.
What are some of your post-Rising Stars highlights?
One I’m still coming down from was publishing M T Khan, a début author whose remarkable story about a young girl working in a mica mine in Pakistan drew me in from the very first page of the submission. Nura and the Immortal Palace went on to become a Waterstones Book of the Month and win the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Younger Readers. Seeing an author receive recognition and industry success for a book like this one was incredible—and it marks the beginning of what I know is going to be a long writing career, which is what we are all hoping for in publishing new voices.
And how do you hope your own career will develop?
I think it’s fair to say that I have big ambitions long-term, but my focus for the next few years will definitely include discovering and publishing more Irish writers and artists; there is a trove of talent throughout the island that deserves an international stage. I will also be continuing my focus on and interest in finding new and underrepresented stories, which has been hugely important to me from my first day in publishing.
Which of your titles are you expecting to get the most attention at this year’s London Book Fair?
We recently announced my acquisition of two new middle-grade titles from the incredible Pádraig Kenny—a man who is both a wickedly good writer and a joy to work with—the first of which is Stitch, publishing in spring 2024. It follows the story of a Frankenstein’s monster-like little boy, and features one of my favourite depictions of friendship I’ve read in years.
Another is How to Love by web-comic artist Alex Norris: an illustrated, graphic novel-style guide to love and relationships for teenagers, which we are publishing at the end of 2023. Alex is the creator of the hugely popular “Oh No” web comic and has over a million followers across various platforms, and this highly original concept of a humorous yet wise guide to love will appeal to their existing fanbase—but also break them out to a whole new readership.
Yassine Belkacemi
John Murray Press and Baskerville, Editorial director
Class of 2016
Yassine Belkacemi joined the John Murray Press (JMP) publicity team as a Creative Access intern and was soon made a permanent member of the department. One of his first solo campaigns was for Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney, which earned him a 2015 Publishers’ Publicity Circle Newcomer award. He moved up the ranks, becoming JMP publicity director in 2019, while adding editorial responsibilities to his remit. He switched to editorial full-time earlier this year with his current role as editorial director.
Has the Rising Stars been useful for you?
Extremely useful in a couple of ways: at the time, I wasn’t well known in the publishing industry. Being selected as a Rising Star gave me visibility, which was invaluable as someone who was coming up in publishing—and it helped me connect with lots of people outside my place of work. On a more personal level, it gave me a huge amount of confidence. I was submitted by a colleague, which really made me feel valued as a team member, and it was evidence—to myself more than anything—that the work I was doing stood out and was having an impact. Being noticed, being appreciated, can have a massive impact on people and really help their confidence as they continue their careers. If you see someone you work with doing good work, celebrate them!
What are some of your post-Rising Stars highlights?
As an editor, getting Mick Herron to be a number-one bestseller with his latest novel, Bad Actors, the culmination of seven years of working closely with Mick and the relentless efforts of everyone at JMP. As a publicist, a massive highlight was working on Billy Connolly’s books. Growing up in Glasgow, he was almost a mythical figure around the city and so to meet him and work on his memoirs and help his books become bestsellers was a surreal and wonderful feeling.
And how do you hope your career develops?
I’m just starting out on the full-time editorial career, so I’m not trying to look too far ahead at the moment. I’m just enjoying building a list, working with my current crop of brilliant authors, and working hard to find interesting books—and working harder still to make sure those books find their readership.
How do you hope the industry develops?
I think tried and tested routes to market are probably not having the commercial impact they once had. Or at least, they are not working for as many books and authors as they have done in the past. As we continue to diversify the kinds of books and authors we publish, I think there needs to be concerted efforts and investment in getting books to audiences which have been ignored, underserved and neglected by publishers.
What are your ambitions for this year’s London Book Fair?
I will be going to the fair this year and looking forward to meeting lots of people from around the world. Our wonderful rights team will be selling the hell out of our books, but keep an eye on Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding (Baskerville) and We Could be Everything to Each Other by Madeline Docherty (John Murray), two remarkable débuts.
Melissa Cox
Zaffre, Publishing director
Class of 2013
Melissa Cox led Waterstones’ children’s department when named a Rising Star, before subsequently being promoted to head of books and being selected to the (then) Bookseller 100—the list was later expanded to 150 book trade staffers. Cox crossed the aisle in 2016 to join Hodder as editorial director and last year moved to her current role at Bonnier’s Zaffre division, where she is building a commercial list as its publishing director.
Has Rising Stars been useful for you?
I ended up moving out of children’s and into different roles within the Waterstones team, my last bookselling role being head of books in 2015. That was just two years after the Rising Stars nod, which retrospectively makes me sound incredibly ambitious, a bookselling Eve Harrington, but I always just wanted to work with good people on good books, so every move I’ve made has been inspired by that.
The Rising Stars recognition has been a permanent fixture on my CV, I am so grateful to have it on there. It means a lot to industry colleagues and definitely helped me grow my profile.
What are some of your post-Rising Stars highlights?
I have been so lucky: since the Rising Stars I have been able to work on a huge number of exciting books and projects. At Waterstones it was probably things like introducing the Children’s Book of the Month, being at the forefront of that colouring book craze and judging the Costa Children’s Book Award in the year that Frances Hardinge won.
In publishing, it’s always been the authors I have been able to meet and work with: publishing the first ever beauty book specifically catering to women of colour, editing my first manuscript (the relief of realising I could edit a manuscript) and that book going on to be shortlisted for prizes…it’s been a pretty incredible decade.
I can’t wait to see what’s next.
How do you hope your career develops?
I hope I always get to work with incredible people—that’s what I have loved most about my career so far. The team I work with at Bonnier is full of brilliant (and very funny) people, and I feel so lucky to get to work with them and learn from them.
How do you hope the industry develops?
The industry has changed dramatically since I started out in it—in ways that were completely necessary and reflect the world around us. However, I’ve noticed a fixation on youth and disruption, one that reflects our wider culture and the influence of tech. This kind of “out with the old” attitude sometimes seems to tip towards a lack of appreciation for experience—and the professionalism learned from those decades of experience.
I love innovation; I’m a big social media user and I think there is plenty to be excited about in the new and the bold, but we are working on a piece of tech that was largely perfected in its physical form hundreds of years ago, so maybe there is room for learning from both the old and the new in publishing.
What are your ambitions for this year’s London Book Fair?
Like most editors, I will be heading to London Book Fair, and cannot wait for those sweet 3 p.m. Diet Cokes and The Bookseller Dailies. The fair is a brilliant opportunity to catch up with colleagues from all over the world and talk with people who you usually only get to talk to via email. It’s my first LBF at Zaffre, so I’m going to be looking to buy rather than to sell, and it definitely helps to have a profile when trying to book meetings. I was lucky to get introduced to the industry very early on via Rising Stars, and I really do think it was a significant turning point in my career.
