Baggaley explains surprise move to Bloomsbury

In a coup for Bloomsbury, Paul Baggaley is to leave Pan Macmillan after 11 years as Picador publisher to take up the post of Bloomsbury editor-in-chief for adult consumer publishing. The appointment has the full support of Alexandra Pringle, Bloomsbury’s current editor-in-chief, who now moves to the position of executive publisher.

Baggaley told The Bookseller he hadn’t been looking for a new job, but that Bloomsbury c.e.o. Nigel Newton and m.d. of consumer publishing Emma Hopkin had convinced him. “I have done 11 years at Picador and I managed to achieve what I wanted,” he said. “It’s consistently profitable and I’ve built a team there. I wasn’t really looking to change that but talking to Emma—who I knew from her Macmillan Children’s Books days—and to Nigel, their vision of what they wanted, and the thought of working alongside them, was compelling. Picador is a wonderful part of Pan Macmillan, but only part of its adult publishing; this role has a slightly broader scope. I have one last big job in me and this seemed like the right one. It was time for a change." He added: "Picador is incredible and there are many, many things I will miss. It will be 50 in two years’ time and I assumed I would be part of that milestone and celebration. But the chance to work with Emma is incredibly exciting – she knows what I am good at, and will support me. And Nigel was very inspiring."

Baggaley will join Bloomsbury in early 2020, reporting to Hopkin. Newton said: "At a time of unprecedented strength for Bloomsbury Adult publishing, with nine books recently and currently in the bestseller list, we are consolidating that strength with the appointment of Paul. He brings huge strength, both in his own publishing and in his leadership of editorial teams. He follows in the great footsteps of the only two editors-in-chief in Bloomsbury’s 33 years, Liz Calder, and Alexandra Pringle, who was one of the archi- tects—with Emma Hopkin, Kathleen Farrar and me—of Paul’s appointment. Alexandra remains a vital member of our team with her incomparable list and publishing panache. We look forward greatly to Paul’s arrival."

Picador has seen a string of major bestsellers in the past couple of years, including Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, Jessie Burton’s The Muse and the anonymously-authored The Secret Barrister. The imprint’s growth led to promotions in May for Ravi Mirchandani (to editor-in-chief), Francesca Main (to associate publisher) and George Morley (to publishing director), while this week there were promotions for Kris Doyle and Sophie Jonathan (both made editorial directors), and Ansa Khan Khattak and Kishani Widyaratna (commissioning editors).

On Baggaley’s successor, Macmillan publisher Jeremy Trevathan told The Bookseller: “It’s a testament to Paul that the Picador team has such a wonderful strength and depth of talent and that, as a result, we see this as a terrific opportunity for the next stage in Picador’s development. We’ll explore all options. We wish him well for all that he goes ahead to do at Bloomsbury."