Jeffrey Archer leaves Pan Mac for HarperCollins in three-book deal

Jeffrey Archer is leaving Pan Macmillan after 18 years and returning to HarperCollins in a three-book deal.

HC c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne, m.d. Kate Elton and executive publisher Kimberley Young acquired world rights from the 80-year-old author's son James Archer and Alan Mitchell at Mitchell Rights Management (MRM).

The first book in the deal is Over My Dead Body, part of the William Warwick series, which will be published “with fanfare” simultaneously across HarperCollins' English language markets in autumn 2021.

It is the fourth in the series following the titular detective as he aspires to become Met Police commissioner. Pan Macmillan published the previous William Warwick books, with the third instalment, Turn a Blind Eye, due to be published on 1st April 2021.

Archer said: “I’ve had 18 wonderful years with Pan Macmillan, whose outstanding team I’ve been proud to work with. However, after completing my contract with them, I am delighted and excited to be returning to HarperCollins, which successfully published me for so many years. I’m looking forward to them joining me on William Warwick’s next stage of his journey, from inspector to commissioner.”

The author's career spans almost 50 years and he has written 37 titles, with sales of 275 million copies worldwide, according to his publisher. In that time he has been published in 97 countries and racked up 27 Sunday Times number one bestsellers.

Through Nielsen BookScan's UK TCM, which measures sales since 1998 only, he has sold 4.5 million books for £30.4m in total, with his bestseller 2006's False Impression on 277,564 copies sold in paperback. The previous William Warwick books have sold 124,802 copies to date, excluding lockdown sales.

Redmayne said: “I’ve been a fan of Jeffrey Archer since first reading Kane and Abel, and it has been a constant irritation that my tenure at HarperCollins started after his fantastic run of books with us in the 1990s. I am delighted that the situation will now be rectified as he returns to us, his ambition to entertain his readers as strong as ever and with many incredible stories to tell.”

The deal sees Archer return to HarperCollins, a publisher which released him from his contract after the author's 2001 conviction and imprisonment for perjury. Pan Mac signed him in a three-book deal in 2002 while he was still in prison and has continued releasing his books ever since.

Jeremy Trevathan, publisher at Pan Macmillan, said: "We are naturally sorry to be saying goodbye to Jeffrey after a fruitful and fun publishing relationship over the last 20 years or so. We are proud to have grown Jeffrey into a number one bestselling brand around the world. Jeffrey's books, and especially his most recent series including The Clifton Chronicles and William Warwicks, have gone from strength to strength as an increasingly loyal readership has exploded globally. We are looking forward to publishing our last book in the William Warwick series, Turn a Blind Eye, in April, and wish Jeffrey every possible success in his future career."  

The move is also a landmark deal for Archer's son and the MRM agency which now represents him, following a 10-year deal signed last year with digital publisher Saga Egmont to make his 37 books available across 11 languages.

The deal also comes after the author launched a court case against his former agency Curtis Brown over alleged missing payments of more than £500,000, something the agency "entirely" rejected. The dispute was later settled without further details being provided.

Elton said: “Jeffrey Archer is, quite simply, one of the world's greatest storytellers. He combines sheer unputdownable pace with a cleverness and intricacy of plotting that is rarely matched, and the hundreds of millions of copies he's sold around the world are a monumental testament to his skill. It is a huge privilege to be working with him.'

Young added: “A key part of the HarperFiction strategy is to add to our roster of blockbuster authors. Last year saw us deliver a record number of #1s, and the opportunity to work with Jeffrey Archer, who is a #1 bestseller and a legendary storyteller – feels like the perfect match. We are thrilled he is making a home at HarperFiction.”