Jones joins Head of Zeus from S&S as O'Shea steps up to fiction publishing director

Bethan Jones is moving to Head of Zeus (HoZ) next month to take on the role of editorial director, swapping her current position as senior commissioning editor at Simon & Schuster to lead the strategy at HoZ’s crime imprint Aries.

Jones will start on 19th September, reporting to publishing director Laura Palmer, overseeing the editorial team and building a crime and thriller list. At S&S, Jones published authors including Russ Thomas, Kathy Reichs, Chris Carter and Jack Jordan, as well as launching and running S&S crime community The Likely Suspects. 

"I have loved working at S&S and will miss my authors and colleagues hugely," Jones said. "I’ve had a brilliant three years and I’ve learnt so much during my time there but joining Laura, Madeleine, and the amazing team at Head of Zeus is such a fantastic opportunity – it feels like the perfect next step for me. I’m excited to play a lead role in the Aries imprint and to help deliver growth across their exceptional crime, thriller and adventure list, while building a list of my own. I’m sad to say goodbye to S&S but I’m also so excited for the future and can’t wait to get started.”

Meanwhile, editorial director Madeleine O’Shea will step up to the role of acting fiction publishing director to cover Palmer’s maternity leave from October 2022. O’Shea will report to HoZ c.e.o. and publisher Nicolas Cheetham and will oversee HoZ’s four fiction imprints Ad Astra, Aries, Aria and Apollo Fiction. 

"It’s a really exciting time at Head of Zeus," O’Shea said. "Our four fiction imprints play to the talents and interests of our excellent team and our editorial offering has never been stronger. I will miss Laura hugely, but know that with the support of Bethan leading Aries, Nic’s intergalactic efforts at Ad Astra and the brilliant Rachel Faulkner-Willcocks steering Aria, Head of Zeus’s fiction division will continue to thrive."

Palmer added: “Bethan is going to be absolutely brilliant as the head of Aries. She has just the right combination of expertise, passion and vision to lead and grow the imprint into an industry-leading force. Meanwhile, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Madeleine O’Shea to become HoZ’s acting fiction publishing director. As the head of our literary imprint, Apollo Fiction, she has proved an exceptional editor, publisher and leader, and I can’t wait to see what she brings to the role.”