Christopher MacLehose steps back from MacLehose Press after 13 years

Christopher MacLehose has decided to leave Quercus imprint MacLehose Press, of which he is the founder and where he has been the publisher for 13 years. Associate publisher Katharina Bielenberg is to succeed him as publisher.

MacLehose, who published the press' first books in 2008, said: "I am nothing but grateful to all of the colleagues at the imprint under Quercus and subsequently at Hachette, and to all of its authors and translators, every one of whom has contributed to its success. There is no question but that in Katharina Bielenberg’s hands the list will continue to flourish."

Bielenberg will take over the role of publisher at MacLehose Press — which publishes literature from around the world, mostly in translation — at the end of the year. 

MacLehose will reveal his own plans in due course, Quercus said, while confirming he is not stepping down as a result of redundancy and that there are no immediate plans for other staff changes.

Jon Butler, managing director of Quercus, said: "Firstly I wanted to thank Christopher for all that he has done for MacLehose Press, and moreover for Quercus as a whole, over the past 13 years. Christopher is without question one of the great publishers of the 20th, and now 21st centuries, and it is testament to his editorial eye that the very first book he published at Quercus in 2008 was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. On behalf of everyone at Quercus I wish him well, and thank him for an enormous contribution to the history and success of our young company."

He added: "At the same time, I am delighted to be able to promote Katharina to build further on an extraordinary first 13 years of the MacLehose Press. Katharina is without question one of the most experienced and talented editors of international literature, and I know I speak for many friends around the world in wishing her every success in her new role."

Bielenberg said: "Christopher has been instrumental in the reinvigoration of translation publishing over many decades; it’s been a privilege to work alongside him for at least 20 of those years. He has been an extraordinary mentor and a loyal friend, and I look forward to building on his work with our authors and translators, as well as developing the list for future generations."

MacLehose Press was established in London in 2007. As a relatively young imprint, it introduced to English readers multiple prize-winners in translation from 24 languages and bestsellers, including Timur Vermes’ Look Who’s Back, Lars Mytting’s Norwegian Wood, The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker, and notably the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson and David Lagercrantz, with worldwide sales of more than 100 million copies.