Ex-Bonnier head of fiction marketing Ellie Pilcher launches freelance business

Award-winning marketer and novelist Ellie Pilcher has launched a freelance business as a marketing consultant and content creator after leaving her role as head of fiction marketing at Bonnier Books UK. 

Following 10 years of in-house experience at Bonnier, her new venture seeks to focus on “honest, collaborative and creative marketing, helping clients — both publishers and authors — at every stage of the publishing journey, from frontlist to backlist and beyond,” Pilcher said. 

She is currently working with Transworld Penguin Random House, plus The Empowered Author online community. She is also collaboratively programming events for new literary space, Literature at The Lantern.  

“It’s been an exhilarating few weeks launching a new business. Every day has presented an exciting opportunity,” Pilcher said. “From author coaching and supporting self-published writers, to building traditional marketing campaigns with established publishing houses and programming events within a stunning new literary space.” 

Pilcher has previously worked at Avon, HarperCollins and Canelo. Her work has won five Book Marketing Society awards, with her marketing campaign for Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (Bonnier Books UK) winning Best Debut Campaign in 2023, contributing to its nomination for Debut Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2024. 

At the London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards in 2020, Pilcher launched an online mentoring business during the pandemic, #MarketYourMarketing, offering coaching to publishing hopefuls, authors and professionals and with up to 500 live attendees per event. Her coaching has more recently moved to her TikTok channel @eleanorpilcher, with a developing platform of more than 12k followers. She is also a published author, with her second novel That’s What She Said publishing with HarperCollins US in April 2025. 

Pilcher added: “As a traditionally published author, I have a unique perspective and understanding of the needs of both authors and publishers, and I’m looking forward to putting that perspective into practice; developing thumb-stopping digital campaigns, revitalising backlists so they work harder for their creators and building creative foundations for unstoppable author brands.” 

Author Liz Hyder said: “Ellie Pilcher is an extraordinary talent. In over 25 years working in the arts, I have rarely come across such a brilliant creative mind in any field. She is wildly imaginative, utterly inspiring, fantastically strategic and a pure joy to work with. Anyone who gets to work with her on their team is a lucky person indeed. She is exceptional and the best marketeer I have ever worked with.” 

Visit eleanorpilcher.com for more information.