Ebury to house entertainment titles in new Spotlight imprint

Ebury Publishing is launching a new imprint, Ebury Spotlight, to be the home of its entertainment titles.

The imprint, led by publishing director Sara Cywinski, will bring together all Ebury's non-fiction entertainment publishing that would previously have been commissioned under its Ebury Press and Virgin imprints. The publisher said this would consolidate both its commissioning power and bring together authors such as Peter Crouch, Jane McDonald, Tan France and Sir Cliff Richard.

The imprint’s key creatives will be Cywinski, senior editorial director Lorna Russell and editorial director Emma Smith.

Ebury said there would be a strong focus on talents "who genuinely engage an audience, online platforms, unique personalities and current cultural conversations that further connect audiences with their passions". Amplification and long-term partnerships will be driven by a unique hub set-up that sees editorial and communications brought together in "a close-knit single 360 publishing team".

The list launches in the spring with Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding’s memoir and former SAS trooper and air-accident survivor Jamie Hull’s life story. Also on the way is dog trainer Graeme Hall and shepherdess Hannah Jackson. For the autumn, the publisher promised “four huge blockbuster announcements will be coming in the next few weeks that will help define entertainment publishing in 2021”.

Cywinski explained: “Ebury Publishing has always been a pop culture powerhouse and the entertainment team has always had its finger on the pulse with an innate ability to spot trends and talent ahead of the game. Now we have the opportunity to showcase and maximise our commercial reach under the newly created imprint. We have a jam-packed autumn list that will only strengthen our reputation as the industry’s destination publisher for entertainment.”

The news follows Ebury's recent announcement of a new imprint with Fearne Cotton, extending her Happy Place brand into books.