Jonathan Cape's Dan Franklin to retire

Dan Franklin, associate publisher at Jonathan Cape, is due to retire after 26 years at the Vintage imprint.

Franklin joined Cape in 1993 as publishing director and became publisher across Vintage imprints in 2003. He joined from Secker & Warburg where he published Roddy Doyle, Bill Bryson and Louis de Bernières.

Michal Shavit took over as publishing director when Franklin went part-time in 2016 as associate publisher. Franklin will leave Cape on 31st October, but will continue to oversee the Jonathan Cape graphic novels list on a freelance basis.

In November the Jonathan Cape editorial team will consist of Shavit as publishing director, Robin Robertson as associate publisher and Bea Hemming as deputy publishing director. While Franklin will remain primary editor for Roddy Doyle, Helen Macdonald and Audrey Niffenegger, Shavit will take over publication of Franklin’s fiction writers while Hemming will pick up non-fiction.

Franklin's publishing career began at Peter Owen Ltd, followed by Harvill Press, Collins and Heinemann where he worked as editorial director for non-fiction. Throughout his career he has published and edited Martin Amis, Julia Blackburn, Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie. In 2000, Franklin acquired Daniel Clowes's Ghost World, a graphic novel that became a film starring Thora Birch.

Franklin said: “From when I was a teenager, avidly reading novels borrowed from my local library, I knew that Cape was the best list. It has been a tremendous privilege to be Cape’s publisher, and the last 26 years have been wonderful fun, with marvellous authors and fantastic colleagues. But now I’ve passed 70, and it’s definitely time for a rest.”

Shavit added: “For the last quarter of a century Dan has dedicated his life to the authors and to the books that have made Cape what it is today. He is an inspiring publisher; voraciously curious, visionary, instinctive, fiercely passionate and always kind and funny. He has been the greatest of champions for his authors, a fabulous colleague, mentor and friend to so many. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude – he’s a true living legend.”

Franklin’s most recent acquisition - Ian McEwans’s The Cockroach – a “biting political satire” on Brexit, inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, will publish later this month.