Jessop to leave Vintage following restructure

Frances Jessop, editor for Yellow Jersey Press and Vintage,  is being made redundant this month after nine years with the imprint.

Her departure comes as part of a restructure of the editorial team. Jessop will finish at the Penguin Random House imprint on 25th May and plans to continue in the publishing industry, in a freelance capacity for the interim period.

A Vintage spokesperson has paid tribute to her “great editorial acumen and flair”.

In her role as editor, she commissioned and edited literary sports books for Yellow Jersey Press as well as fiction and non-fiction paperbacks for Vintage.

Jessop started off as a journal publishing assistant for Wiley Blackwell in 2004 before joining the William Morris Endeavor agency as an assistant in 2008. She took on the assistant editor role at Vintage the following year.

Jessop told The Bookseller: "Over my nine years at Vintage and Yellow Jersey, I've been privileged to work with the most talented of authors and colleagues and I shall miss them greatly. I'm very proud of the books I've published and those coming soon, and I wish them, Vintage and Yellow Jersey every success in the future.

"I look forward with enthusiasm to what I hope will be an exciting new phase of my career."

“Vintage recognises Fran’s considerable contributions to the success of Yellow Jersey and Vintage in her nine-year tenure,” a spokesperson said. “She has worked tirelessly for her authors, who have included Richard Flanagan, Peter Ackroyd, Colson Whitehead, Alison Weir and Roddy Doyle at Vintage, as well as Ned Boulting, Jo Pavey, Richard Askwith and Ed Warner at Yellow Jersey, and has shown great editorial acumen and flair.”

No other staffing changes have been announced as part of the restructure.

Jessop can be reached on frances.jessop@gmail.com.

Yellow Jersey marks 20 years of sports publishing this year.