Pan Macmillan's Jeremy Trevathan bows out to the sound of laughter

A packed party to mark the retirement of Jeremy Trevathan, Pan Macmillan’s m.d. of adult publishing on Thursday (21st March) at the Bloomsbury Hotel in Great Russell Street, saw staff and former colleagues join agents and authors to raise a glass to Trevathan’s nearly five-decade publishing career.

Present were past Pan Mac staffers David North, Geoff Duffield, Jon Butler, Kris Doyle and Francesca Main,  authors including Alan Hollinghurst, Kate Mosse and Charlotte Mendelson, and agents including Caroline Michel, Jonathan Lloyd and Luigi Bonomi.

Pan Mac c.e.o. Joanna Prior recounted the "unusual, wiggly publishing career" of "inimitable Jez", which saw him start out in academic publishing, then move into production, rights and then editorial, jumping ship from Penguin to Pan Mac 29 years ago to publish authors as varied as Shirley Conran, Roy Jenkins, Ann Cleeves, Max Hastings, Jeffrey Archer, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Elton John and the late Lucinda Riley. "So much of the friendly warmth and inclusivity" of the publisher derives from him and his "irrepressible sense of fun", she said, noting the adult division’s "vintage year" in 2019, "one of Jeremy’s proudest publishing moments".

Publishing director Georgina Morley, who has known Trevathan for nearly four decades, then gave what was billed as a "less sanitised" tribute to his achievements, in a speech in which pink feather boas, pyjamas, falling asleep in meetings after too much clubbing, a chance encounter with Queen Elizabeth, a very injudicious draft blurb by a publishing assistant for a Jeffrey Archer book, and an embarrassing linguistic misunderstanding by Lucinda Riley, all featured. "All I really remember is laughing and laughing and laughing," she said. "I can’t quite imagine Pan Mac without you — you are the kindest and most generous of colleagues, a rock and a mainstay, and we all love you to bits."

Trevathan mused on the "sheer breadth of experiences" he’d had across his career, against the background of the march of technology — recalling how his Penguin colleagues "gasped and applauded" over the sending of the publisher’s first ever fax. He described joining Pan Macmillan — "a vibrant if incredibly eccentric work family" — saying he had grown to love it deeply "for its passion, quirkiness, fun, unwavering commitment to making things happen no matter what the obstacles". 

"At the heart of my publishing life have been our authors, who have honoured us with their precious manuscripts, each book an amazing experience," he said. "The creativity, imagination and insight of these authors is a constant inspiration." He also thanked the many agents present, saying they were the "unsung heroes" of the industry, "advocating for their authors with passion and integrity". 

Trevathan said he embarked on his retirement with "a profound sense of achievement and a sense that the company is in excellent hands with Jo [Prior] and the leadership team."