Allen-Batifoulier joins Renegade as editor

Renegade Books has appointed Alexa Allen-Batifoulier as editor.

She has been at Little, Brown since 2022 working across Fleet and Virago. In her role as assistant editor across the imprints, she supported both lists and worked with authors including Colson Whitehead, Aoife Fitzpatrick and Mecca Jamilah Sullivan.

Previously, in New York, she worked at Amistad – an imprint of HarperCollins US – where she focused on titles from marginalised communities and Black icons. There she published Jenifer Lewis and George McCalman, whose Illustrated Black History won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, and worked closely with the Zora Neale Hurston estate.

Reporting to publisher Christina Demosthenous, Allen-Batifoulier will start on 11th September. In her role as editor, she will be acquiring romance, fantasy and commercial women’s fiction, with a core focus on “TikTok hits” – as well as supporting Demosthenous across the Renegade list.

Demosthenous said: “Alexa is a true star in the making. She is a passionate, thoughtful and dedicated editor, whose commitment to inclusive publishing and changing this industry for the better is matched by her love of commercial fiction, her knowledge of the market and her razor-sharp commercial instincts.

“Every role Alexa has had in the industry has been driven by her mission to elevate marginalised voices, and this commitment to activism – paired with her commercial prowess – is perfectly aligned with our mission. I was blown away by her during the interview process and I can’t wait to see her flourish at Renegade. I’m massively excited to see Alexa take this step up, and to see her get stuck into the important and thrilling work we’re doing."

Allen-Batifoulier said: “I’ve long admired the entire team and tremendous vision at Dialogue, so I’m thrilled to join such a dynamic, ambitious imprint in Renegade, and at such an exciting time. Dialogue has a brilliant track record of bringing marginalised voices and stories to the forefront, and they model the inspiring mission-driven publishing I’m drawn to. I’m very much looking forward to working closely with Christina and the rest of the team to continue growing Renegade’s list.

“At the same time, I’m grateful to my incredibly talented colleagues at Little, Brown who made my introduction to UK publishing so refreshing and aspirational. They’re an amazing group of people and I wish them all the best.”