Penguin Business and Penguin Life to merge with immediate effect

Penguin General imprints Penguin Business and Penguin Life will be merging into one imprint with immediate effect under the name Penguin Life. 

Publishing director Pippa Wright will lead the new imprint which will publish across multiple personal development categories, including health-led science, popular psychology, smart thinking, career, productivity, focus and fitness. The imprint will also continue to publish a small number of illustrated projects. 

Wright said: "Penguin Life is in search of major global voices who are at the forefront of helping readers change their lives for the better, through books which establish themselves as definitive texts."

Preena Gadher, managing director of Penguin General, said: "The merging of two lists into one super imprint is not only a reflection of the market but also of our ambition to turbo-charge our business in this space. With Pippa’s clarity of vision, her laser-focused strategic approach, combined with her detailed and passionate knowledge of the market, the new Penguin Life is bursting with energy and a massive sense of opportunity." 

Editorial director Emily Robertson will join Wright on the new Penguin Life team with senior commissioning editor Amy McWalters and editor Celia Buzuk. Penguin Life will be also be recruiting for another editorial director acquiring in the areas of smart thinking, career, performance, focus and productivity. 

Wright added: "It has become clear that consumers of personal development don’t make a distinction between books that help them optimise their working lives, and books that help them optimise the rest of their lives. Readers want to see holistic results and we know that better health leads to better relationships, which lead to better performance at work and so on. Uniting both imprints as Penguin Life allows us to publish the very best authors whose skills and experience can improve every part of your life, while recognising how these two markets increasingly cross over."