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Jones and Contos promoted to publishing directors at Laurence King as raft of hires made
Laurence King has announced a raft of promotions and new hires, with Elen Jones and Philip Contos promoted to publishing directors.
In their new roles, Jones and Contos take overall strategic responsibility for the imprint. Jones, who joined the company in 2019 from Ebury, will lead the art and lifestyle publishing, while Contos, who previously worked at the V&A before joining Laurence King as a senior editor in 2016, will lead the gift list. Both report to Anna Valentine, managing director of Orion.
Adele Harrison, who joined Laurence King in 2019, has been promoted to senior development editor and will work alongside Contos and be responsible for developing new titles for the games list. Jones is recruiting for a new commissioning editor for the art book list to complete the team.
Hannah Coughlin has also been hired by as commissioning editor for gift publishing, reporting to Contos. Coughlin joins from Octopus where her publishing successes included Pub Quiz Snap and Moon Yoga for the Pyramid imprint.
Liam Relph, who has most recently held senior creative positions in the arts sector, joins as art director, leading the creative team at Laurence King, which includes new hires senior designer Hannah Owens and junior designer Irina Selaru.
Maddy Ovenden has been promoted to head of sales, reporting to Orion sales director Jen Wilson. Working closely with the publishing directors and the group sales teams, Ovenden will be responsible for driving sales across all markets and opening up new routes to market.
Jones said: “This is a truly exciting time for Laurence King. Fresh talent, ideas and ambition will enable us to take our signature design-led, package-driven, internationally focused publishing to the next level, and I can’t wait to get started."
Contos also commented: “The new team has come together brilliantly and we have returned to the office refreshed, energised and ready to go. A raft of new acquisitions and soon-to-be-announced partnerships will ensure that the coming years are set to be even bigger for Laurence King.”
Valentine said: “The Laurence King list has gone from strength-to-strength since being acquired in 2020, enjoying its best year yet in 2022, and these promotions reflect the enormous contribution that Philip, Elen, Adele and Maddy have made to that performance. I’m delighted to welcome Liam Relph, Hannah Coughlin, Hannah Owens and Irina Selaru to the team, and these appointments reflect the scale of our ambition as we look to the next phase of Laurence King’s creative and commercial growth.”
