Orion promotes Pathak to editorial director

Francesca Pathak, senior commissioning editor at Orion Fiction, has been promoted to editorial director.

Since joining Orion Fiction from Cornerstone in 2016, Pathak has published books including Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh and The Guilty Wife by Elle Croft, both of which sold more than 150,000 copies in 2018. Pathak also acquired books by authors such as Mari Hannah, this year’s chair of the Theakstons Old Peculier crime writing festival in Harrogate, and Emma Kavanagh, whose new novel To Catch A Killer publishes at the end of this month.

Emad Akhtar, publishing director at Orion Fiction, praised Pathak for being "hugely talented, diligent, and a delight to work with" following her promotion.

"She possesses amazing strategic and business acumen, and will be a brilliant publisher for years to come. She’s an absolutely integral part of the recent success of the Orion crime list, and we’re all so happy that her excellence has been recognised and rewarded," she added.

Pathak commented: "It’s been an incredible journey so far with Orion Fiction and taking up the role of editorial director is a true pleasure. The team and our authors are so inspiring to work with and I look forward to seeing our shared vision for the list come to life."

Orion also recently hired Lucy Frederick, formerly of Penguin Random House Children’s division, as editorial assistant. Frederick also reports to Akhtar.