Haslam, Best and Wallace join Boldwood

Megan Haslam from HarperCollins’ Mills & Boon and Francesca Best from PRH’s Transworld are joining indie Boldwood in January as editorial directors. Meanwhile Niamh Wallace of BookMachine is joining the publisher in the role of marketing executive.

The appointments mean that Boldwood, crowned RNA Publisher of the Year for the second time last week, will begin the New Year with a 20-strong workforce.

Haslam will have a special responsibility for romance, acquiring across all the romance fiction genres. She said: "After 15 years at Mills & Boon working with so many brilliantly talented authors, I am now delighted to be joining the dynamic team at Boldwood. I love their passion for innovation and am particularly inspired by their championing of the romantic fiction genre. I can’t wait to be part of their continued growth by bringing in new voices to their already stellar lists."

Best, whose authors have included Susan Fletcher, Emma Hornby, Hazel Prior and Jo Thomas, and who was named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2018, joins Boldwood with the brief to build her own commercial fiction list across all genres. She commented: "I have had a fantastic time at Transworld and am particularly sorry to be leaving all my wonderful authors. But it was hard to resist the lure of working with the Boldwood team: in just a few short years they have established themselves as a dynamic, agile and successful new publisher with huge commercial nous and expertise. I am delighted to be part of their ambitious plans for growth and can’t wait to get started."