Morris leaves Orion for Ebury

Olivia Morris, currently editorial director for Orion Spring and Seven Dials imprints, is joining Ebury to be publishing director for Rider.

Welcoming Morris to Rider, where she is due to start on 11th February, Ebury publisher Andrew Goodfellow praised Morris as "a smart, energetic, self-starting publisher" and "a great fit" for the list.

Whilst at Orion, Morris acquired books by authors including Fabrice Midal and Dr Harry Barry, mental health campaigner Jayne Hardy, YouTube witch Harmony Nice on Wicca and grief expert Zoe Clark-Coates, the latter in a 24-hour pre-empt. She also worked on Tommy Banks' cookbook, Roots. Morris was promoted from commissioning editor to editorial director by Orion in the summer of 2017. Prior to Orion, she worked at Pan Macmillan as a founding member of the Bluebird list.

"This was a key appointment for us," said Goodfellow. "Rider’s incredibly rich list of life-changing books has become increasingly important in our current turbulent times and we are keen to make Rider relevant to a whole new generation of readers searching for answers.

"Olivia is a smart, energetic, self-starting publisher and I think she will bring an exciting fresh dynamic to Rider without altering the things we already do so well. She’s a great fit with everything we value at Ebury and we can’t wait for her to start."

Morris said: "I’ve had a very happy few years at Orion, helping to launch the Spring imprint, rebrand Seven Dials and hitting my commissioning stride. It’s an honour to now be taking on the mantle at Rider, a list with extraordinary heritage and integrity. I’m excited to join the talented team at Ebury and play a part in shaping the list for the future, to reach and inspire new readers at a time when the world needs it more than ever."

Morris' imminent exit from Orion will follow that of Kirsty Dunseath, formerly publisher of W&N Fiction, who left in October after 16 years and subsequently joined Transworld, and Jon Wood, previously Orion’s group publisher, who left in April after 18 years and is now an agent with Rogers, Coleridge and White. Helen Richardson, the group's publicity and communications director, also recently left as announced last week.