Eades promoted to publisher for Orion Fiction

Trapeze editorial director Sam Eades has been promoted to publisher for Orion Fiction as part of plans to deliver growth across its fiction publishing over the next five years.

Eades joined Orion Fiction in 2015 in a dual role working across publicity and editorial before joining Anna Valentine to set up and launch Trapeze, which was twice shortlisted for Imprint of the Year at the British Book Awards. 

At Trapeze, she ran the fiction list and her authors included Simon Beckett and Sharon Bolton, whose 2019 thriller The Split, became her bestselling title to date, shifting more than 100,000 copies in paperback, according to the publisher. Eades also bolstered rights income for the list through innovative IP generation as David Barnett’s Calling Major Tom, Rachel Winters’s Would Like to Meet and Rosie Fiore’s The After Wife secured six-figure film and international deals.  

Since returning from parental leave to Orion Fiction this January, Eades has led the Cathy Bramley team and publishing, delivering a number five bestseller with The Summer That Changed Us  and growth across all formats. This autumn she will launch Anton Du Beke’s next novel and is working with his team on a new series for Mother’s Day next year.  

In her new role she will be working with executive publisher for fiction, Sarah Benton, who said: “Sam is such a positive force at Orion with her can-do approach, her strategic mind and her absolute love for commercial fiction, our authors and readers. She is exactly the right person to lead our team and work alongside me as we build the list for the future. I am so excited to see what she will achieve in this pivotal role.” 

Eades said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this leadership role at Orion Fiction, an imprint that is a destination publisher for the best commercial authors and editorial talent. I can’t wait to work more closely with Sarah and the team during this exciting time of growth, to push the boundaries of everything we do for our authors to unlock new readers everywhere.”