Highton steps down as publisher at Two Roads

Lisa Highton is stepping down from her role as publisher at John Murray Press imprint Two Roads.

Her last day will be 31st December. After a short break, she intends to pursue "a number of new and diverse activities in and around the publishing industry".

Highton joined Hachette, then Hodder Headline, in Sydney in 1993, having previously worked as publishing director for Doubleday and HarperCollins. She returned to the UK in 2005 as deputy managing director for Hodder & Stoughton before setting up Two Roads in 2011. 

John Murray Press managing director Nick Davies said: "Lisa has always had an unerring eye for inspirational and heart-warming books across fiction and non-fiction: and many of the books she has discovered and the authors she has nurtured have gone on to become huge international and Sunday Times bestsellers, including Marley & Me by John Grogan, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin, Where Memories Go by Sally Magnusson, Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs and My Garden World by Monty Don, The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan and Sarah Haywood’s The Cactus.

"Lisa has also been an enthusiastic advocate for independent bookselling and developing Scottish writers and has been a thoughtful and inspiring mentor to colleagues across the industry, as well as a tireless champion for all her authors and a much-loved colleague. We wish her all the very best for her next chapter."

Highton added: "I’ve had the best and most extraordinary time over the past 28 years, working with amazing authors and colleagues on both sides of the world. Starting Two Roads and seeing it grow and prosper has been a career highlight and I’m grateful for the opportunity, the support and the faith in me; it’s been a privilege. I couldn’t be prouder of our talented authors and my wonderful colleagues at Two Roads and across John Murray Press and I wish them every success for the future. But it’s time for a new challenge and I look forward to whatever comes next and being part of the publishing world for many years to come."