Cornerstone launches 'newly imagined' Del Rey imprint

Cornerstone will launch a "newly imagined and resourced" science fiction and fantasy list, Del Rey UK, bringing together the rich SFF frontlist and heritage backlist titles from Cornerstone and from Ebury, Del Rey’s previous home.

Sam Bradbury, currently commissioning editor at Hodder & Stoughton, will join as dedicated editor for the list reporting to Century publishing director Ben Brusey, with further hires in editorial, marketing and publicity to follow on later this year. The list will showcase "some of the world’s greatest writers, celebrating the genre’s breakout success into mainstream culture".

The imprint will work closely with its sister US Del Rey imprint to "form a new best-in-class transatlantic publishing team", Cornerstone said. As well as the likes of Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican filmmaker and author, Del Rey UK will feature authors including: Katherine Arden, Max Brooks, Beth Cartwright and Andy Weir.

It will publish official novels for "Avatar", Minecraft, "Star Wars" and "Stranger Things" as well as heritage titles from various writers. The launch Del Rey title in May 2020 will be Devolution by Max Brooks.

"This will be followed in July by Feathertide by Beth Cartwright, a magical début novel about a girl who was born to be different," Cornerstone said. "Later in the year will see major new novels published on Del Rey by bestselling authors including Naomi Novik, Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan, John Marrs and Robert Dinsdale, with full announcements to come."

The updated imprint comes after increased interest in the SF & Fantasy genre, according to the publisher. "The move follows significant growth and investment at Cornerstone and Penguin Random House in the SF & Fantasy space, reflecting the increasing mainstream consumer appeal of SF & Fantasy, across film, TV, games, books and audio, including the breakout success of Cornerstone novels Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon."

The Del Rey team said it welcomes submissions from the widest range of genre and crossover books deemed to be SFF.

Bradbury joins from Hodder & Stoughton, where as part of the Hodderscape team she commissioned science fiction and fantasy authors including Veronica Roth, Natasha Ngan and Renée Ahdieh.

Del Rey "will be strengthened by additional specialist publicity, marketing and design appointments in order to maximise the increasing consumer appeal of these genres," the publisher has promised. "This will complement Cornerstone’s wider existing commitments to fan conventions and year-round activities for science fiction and fantasy genres."

Brusey said: "The SF & Fantasy community is one of the most passionate, demanding and engaged readerships and fandoms. But it’s increasingly not a niche or a subculture; it’s becoming the culture. One only has to look at the success of breakout SFF novels, and of Marvel, "Star Wars" and Hollywood’s voracious appetite for SFF to see its massive mainstream appeal. Under the new Del Rey imprint, we are excited to build on the brilliant publishing at Ebury and honoured to be welcoming so many extraordinary new writers. Working together with our friends at Del Rey US, our aim is to bolster the publishing of all of our authors, and to seek out the widest range of new stories, in genre and crossover that will become the SFF classics of the future."

He said that Bradbury "brings a wealth of expertise and passion for this area, from commissioning to speaking on panels and attending conventions," adding that "she is a rising star who lives and breathes SFF, and I look forward to working with her enormously".

Bradbury said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Del Rey UK at this exciting time of growth. There’s already an abundance of talent at Del Rey, and working with Ben and the team to harness that and commission new authors is a wonderful opportunity. I can’t wait to see what exciting opportunities and challenges this new role will provide. I am sad to be leaving my fantastic authors and colleagues at Hodder & Stoughton, but will always be grateful to the whole team for experiences I gained and proud of what we achieved.’

Cornerstone m.d. Susan Sandon said: "The appointment of Sam Bradbury marks an exciting first step in the relaunch of Del Rey in the UK and I am delighted to welcome her to the division. A dedicated SF & Fantasy list is an important strategic growth initiative for us and as is clear from the runaway successes of Ready Player One and the Outlander series, the consumer appeal of this genre is immense."