Bonnier Books UK's digital-first imprint Embla launches

Bonnier Books UK's digital-first imprint Embla Books launches today, as the publisher unveiled its wood grain logo and tagline "our lives are built on stories".

The new imprint, first announced in January, was conceived by digital and business development director Emilie Marneur who joined Bonnier from Fable and prior to that spent 12 years at Amazon. It is led by Jane Snelgrove who also joined from Amazon after leading its UK crime and thriller imprint Thomas & Mercer.

Embla will publish "standout commercial adult fiction" and will launch across all social platforms today (4th August) with the help of key UK book bloggers and influencers, as well as brand partnerships with iBeani and Teapigs. Echoing Bonnier's Scandinavian heritage, the imprint is named after the first woman in Norse mythology, who was carved from a tree trunk by the gods. This is also echoed in the logo "and the deep roots the Embla team is looking to put down as they unveil their publishing plans", said the publisher.

Laura Starkey’s debut, Rachel Ryan’s Resolutions, will become the first book published under the Embla Books banner in September, shortly followed by the supernatural crime thriller The Midnight Man from author and former detective Caroline Mitchell, and Dandy Smith’s debut thriller, One Small Mistake.

Other acquisitions for 2022 include the prize-winning journalist Trish Lorenz, with the opening instalment in a thriller series set in the Australian outback set to arrive in the autumn, two seasonal women’s fiction titles from the bestselling Lucy Coleman, and two romantic comedies from the award-winning Mandy Baggot.

Marneur said: "Digital publishing is highly competitive and sophisticated and we have worked hard to ensure that Embla Books stands out. Combining the long-term thinking of a 200-year-old family-owned publisher, with the insight and skill of an expert digital publishing team, our mission is to nurture a thoughtfully curated list of authors for long-term creative and commercial success. We feel very fortunate to be launching with a wonderful list of authors and will deliver creative, bold digital campaigns for each one of them in due course."

Snelgrove added: "We’re delighted that it’s time to launch Embla Books into the world, and very excited about the stories we’re going to publish. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to build an exciting list of books from some extraordinary talent. We want Embla to become a home for many voices; publishing a broad, eclectic list that resonates with the experiences and passions of our readers."