Black and White Publishing Group bolsters editorial team with two new recruits

Bonnier Books UK’s Black and White Publishing Group is bolstering its editorial team, recruiting Serena Arthur and Matt James across its fiction and non-fiction imprints.   

Arthur has joined the team as commissioning editor across its Footnote Press and Ithaka Press imprints. Prior to joining Bonnier, she worked at Hachette, most recently as an editor at Trapeze Books within Orion.  

Previously Arthur worked within the Headline division, initially as an editorial trainee for the Headline Fiction team and then as editorial assistant for Wildfire Books. She has edited titles including Meg Clothier’s The Book of Eve, Chloë Ashby’s Second Shelf, Jenna Clake’s Disturbance, Shelly Jay Shore’s Rules for Ghosting and Rose McDonagh’s One Came Back. At Bonnier, she will be acquiring and publishing for the Ithaka and Footnote lists, seeking bold, observant and zeitgiesty fiction in the literary/commercial crossover space.  

Arthur said: “While I’m so grateful to have begun my journey at Hachette, having had the pleasure of working with some of the most talented and inspiring people over the past five years, I’m over the moon to be joining the brilliant team at Bonnier Books UK. Sarah, Vidisha and their teams have crafted impressive lists for Ithaka and Footnote that I’m honoured to have the chance to add to in this next stage of my publishing journey. I can’t wait to consider well-crafted, character-led and uniquely captivating fiction for both lists.” 

Vidisha Biswas, managing director for Footnote Press, and Sarah Braybrooke, publishing director at Ithaka Press, said: “As Footnote continues to build on its vibrant existing fiction list and Ithaka expands to become a literary list spanning both non-fiction and fiction, we couldn’t be more pleased to have Serena on board. She impressed us hugely at interview stage and we can’t wait to see what she will do.”