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Orion to launch new smart-thinking imprint, Orion Ignite
Orion Publishing Group will launch a new smart-thinking imprint, Orion Ignite, in January 2026.
The new list will span smart-thinking, self-improvement, psychology, business and business narrative, finance, economics, health and life-optimisation and be headed up by publishing director Anna Argenio, who joined Orion in May 2024 after eight years at Cornerstone.
Argenio has published authors including Philippa Perry, Grace Beverley, Francesc Miralles and Héctor García, and Vishen Lakhiani. She said: “Our mission at Orion Ignite is to share ideas that have the vision to expand our thinking and the conviction to transform our lives. We provide a dedicated home for dynamic innovators, cutting-edge experts and bold thought-leaders, and our role is to connect their work with readers across the globe.
“More than ever, people are looking to books for knowledge and hard-won advice to make informed decisions in all areas of their life. And you only need to look at our launch list to know that’s exactly what Orion Ignite will provide them with. We named our imprint Orion Ignite because we wanted a name that would capture the energy, spark and vibrancy of our books and authors. And what better word than ‘ignite’ to represent us: we ignite ideas, conversations, change – for individuals and the world at large.”
The first title to be signed to the list is How to Disagree Better by Julia Minson, associate professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. It is described as a book that “promises to explain the latest research in the psychology of receptiveness to show readers how they can learn the art of disagreeing without conflict.”
UK and Commonwealth rights were acquired by Jessica Duffy, editorial director, from Abigail Koons at Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management on behalf of Celeste Fine, and Orion Ignite will publish in Spring 2026, simultaneously with Avery in the US.
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Orion managing director Anna Valentine said: “We are thrilled to be supercharging our non-fiction offering at Orion with the launch of Orion Ignite. The Orion division boasts a rich smart-thinking backlist that ranges from Adam Grant’s Give and Take to Carl Honoré’s In Praise of Slow. And Orion Ignite represents an opportunity to invest in and own this thriving area of the non-fiction market. Anna [Argenio] brings superb knowledge and an incredible entrepreneurial spirit, and I couldn’t imagine a better person to be leading the Orion Ignite mission.”
The new colophon was designed by Orion Group creative director Nick Shah. Of the design process, he said: “Today’s readers are used to navigating from apps to podcasts and into books. We needed a logo that would resonate with them as they moved through their cultural sphere. Simplicity, clarity and scalability became key considerations in how we developed the final aesthetic of the logo.”
Also to be published in 2026 will be Professor Kevin Dutton’s Dark Minds: The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Narcissists and Master Manipulators. Argenio acquired world all-language rights with Alice Welby at Kruger Cowne, and Orion Ignite will publish in June 2026. The debut book by chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura – “part memoir, part lessons in life and chess” – has also been acquired. Argenio pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Fiona Baird at WME on behalf of Alex Kane, and will publish alongside Portfolio in the US in 2026.
In 2027, the imprint will publish Keeping Your Edge: A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Ageing Smartly by Ian Robertson, professor emeritus at Trinity College Dublin and a founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute. Argenio acquired world all-language rights from Sally Holloway at Felicity Bryan Associates, and Orion is including it as a highlight title on their London Book Fair hotlist.
