Haslum made m.d. of Chelsea Green Publishing UK

Former Faber marketing director Matt Haslum has been appointed as the managing director of the UK arm of US independent publisher Chelsea Green Publishing.

Vermont-based Chelsea Green is a publisher of books on the politics and practice of sustainable living. Distributed in the UK by Publishers Group UK, Chelsea Green made the decision to open a London office at the end of 2017 following a period of "unprecedented growth", which has seen UK sales rise 167% to £583,000 in two years, the company said.

Haslum will start in the newly-created role this month, with a focus on establishing the Chelsea Green brand, titles and authors in the UK, and on developing relationships with the trade, agents and readers. He will manage and develop CGP UK’s base of operations, including marketing, PR, sales and editorial. He will also spearhead the digital and marketing strategies to drive both DTC and trade sales.

Haslum said: “People are increasingly passionate about living better and more sustainably, and that’s why Chelsea Green has huge opportunity for growth in the UK. It is a publisher with a strong publishing vision, a highly engaged readership in the US and strong DTC experience. I’m excited about driving this vision forward.”   

Margo Baldwin, publisher of Chelsea Green, said: “We’re thrilled to have Matt head up our new UK company. He brings both tremendous book publishing experience as well as consumer-oriented digital marketing expertise. His leadership will allow us to extend our brand and further develop a community of readers and customers committed to cutting-edge ideas that can create change and move us in a more sustainable direction.”

Haslum spent eight years building digital creative agency Clicked Creative. He then joined Faber & Faber as marketing director in 2012, building a list-focused, consumer-facing marketing team alongside an award-winning website and Members programme. He left the publisher in 2017 following his judgement that the publisher’s direct to consumer relationships and activities were “well advanced and embedded across the company”.

Since leaving Faber, Haslum has been consulting for publishers and creative agencies on a broad range of topics—from digital development to list and campaign planning, to marketing and publishing strategy.