Annie Eaton retires from PRH Children's

Annie Eaton, associate publisher at Penguin Random House (PRH) Children’s, is retiring at the end of March.

Eaton has been with Penguin Random House in its various guises for 32 years, after joining Puffin Books as a junior editor in 1984. She later moved to Transworld Children’s Books and became publisher for combined children’s lists of Transworld and Random House in 2002.

In 2016, Eaton took on the role of associate publisher at PRH Children’s after the company merged its two children’s divisions – Penguin and Random House – in 2015.

During her career Eaton has worked with Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman, Helen Cooper, Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, Dick King-Smith, Jonathan Stroud and John Boyne, and signed Malorie Blackman, whose first novel was published in 1992.

Francesca Dow, m.d. of Penguin Random House Children’s UK, said the company would “miss Annie greatly”.

“She always puts her authors first and after publishing so many books still positively shimmers with excitement when she reads something new that excites her. She is the most wonderful, funny, smart, kind colleague who has shared her passion, wisdom, editorial expertise and sense of fun with enormous generosity and warmth.”

Eaton added: “It was a lucky day for me when I stumbled upon publishing as a career - someone let me in and I have never looked back (and the world of teaching had a narrow escape). It has been an immense privilege to work with such exciting authors and illustrators, and to have had some small part in the joy their books bring to so many children (and grown-ups). I am hugely grateful to Puffin, Transworld, Random House and Penguin Random House for allowing me to do so for over 30 years.”

Her last day with the company will be 31st March.