Angry Robot and Datura Books announce promotions for Creffield and Portsmouth

Angry Robot and Datura Books have announced promotions within the growing team, with Gemma Creffield and Amy Portsmouth stepping into new positions. 

Creffield has been promoted to senior commissioning editor. Joining Angry Robot in 2019, Creffield initially helped restructure the imprint’s editorial and publicity systems. She also edited several books on the list and commissioned several debuts of her own, including the romantasy Ledge from Tiktokker Stacey McEwan, who posts under @stacebookspace.

According to the company, Creffield has been "foundational" to the start of Datura and last April, she was moved from managing to commissioning editor and this promotion is "an acknowledgement of the brilliance she brings to both Angry Robot and Datura Books".

Publisher Eleanor Teasdale said: "Gemma has been building a fantastic list at both Angry Robot and Datura, managing the editorial and production schedule across both imprints. The promotion marks the level at which she works and is commissioning – always smart, and commercial with a wide variety of different titles for different moods. Her eye is keen and the authors she works with we are lucky to have on board.”

Meanwhile, Portsmouth has been promoted from campaigns assistant to campaigns executive. Joining Angry Robot and Datura from her internship at Bloomsbury last August, she has worked closely with the publicity team on lead campaigns and run some title campaigns herself. A key example of her work is the marketing of Evocation from S T Gibson, which has resulted in the publisher’s largest ever physical ARC print-run to date.

Teasdale said: “Amy joined us as an assistant and this is an overdue promotion – she builds creative campaigns for each title on the list and in the short time she’s been with us has made a huge difference in the ambition of our marketing.”

Deputy managing director Vicky Hartley added: “Gemma and Amy have made tremendous contributions to Angry Robot over the past 12 months and have been integral in launching our Datura crime list. Gemma’s knack for finding books with authentic characters, entertaining plots and commercial appeal is something we really value, and Amy has brought passion, engagement and creativity to her campaigns that show she is more than ready to take that next step in her career.”