Puffin strengthens licensing and non-fiction team

Puffin, a division of Penguin Random House Children’s, is strengthening its non-fiction and licensed publishing by promoting Ruth Knowles and hiring Jamie Coleman.

Knowles has been promoted to the role of publisher at the new Puffin, Non-Fiction and Licensing team and will report to publishing director Amanda Punter, who now has overall responsibility for licensed, non-fiction publishing, fiction, picture books, partnerships and illustrated non-fiction at the division.

The company has also hired Coleman, former commissioning editor at Pan Macmillan, as editorial director for licensing and non-fiction, to commission new properties and develop the non-fiction and licensing strategy.

The changes will take place with immediate effect.

“Puffin started out as a non-fiction publisher with its first title appearing in 1940, and I’m thrilled to be taking on this additional responsibility and working with Ruth and the team to further cultivate Puffin’s reputation in both the non-fiction and licensed areas of the market,” said Punter. “At Puffin, our aim is to publish stories for everyone and I’m excited about the new literary storytelling opportunities that enduring entertainment franchises and characters such as Dr Who and DC Superheroes afford us, as well as more recent properties like Stranger Things, and their reach in terms of creating new readers.”

The team will be joined by Emil Fortune, who will manage the Doctor Who children’s publishing programme and started working at Puffin in April, and editorial director Holly Harris.