You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Redmayne celebrates 'really strong year' of publishing at HarperCollins summer party
HarperCollins UK c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne celebrated a “really strong year” of publishing at the company’s summer party, telling attendees “we’ve faced many of the same challenges that many businesses face, but have had the benefit of brilliant books”.
Joe Wicks, Yomi Adegoke, Monica Heisey, Martin Kemp, David Baddiel and Nadine Dorries were among the famous faces in attendance at the courtyard of the Victoria & Albert Museum for yesterday’s bash (5th July).
In his speech Redmayne joked that last year’s address on the other side of the museum’s pool was “slightly disconcerting, almost slightly biblical” before celebrating the publisher’s “fantastic” success at this year’s British Book Awards. Other HarperCollins highlights included the acquisition of Edinburgh-based children’s publisher Barrington Stoke, as well as the progress made at HarperCollins’ new distribution centre at Robroyston due to open in 2025. Earth shifted during construction will be reused to create meadows for wildflowers for bees, Redmayne said, promising HarperCollins authors HarperCollins honey in the future.
Redmayne also reflected on the death of Dame Hilary Mantel in September last year “a writer who had achieved so much and yet still had a huge amount more to give” and said it was a “privilege to publish her work for last 24 years”.
Redmayne concluded: “It is an uncertain world out there, we have the cost of living crisis, we have strikes, we have an ever-changing political landscape. I know at HarperCollins we have a reputation for publishing prime ministerial memoirs but with three PMs in office since this time last year I’m afraid even we may struggle to keep up. But in times of uncertainty we turn to those that we trust. And I am incredibly grateful that you continue to put your faith in HarperCollins. We don’t take that responsibility lightly and please know that you have the best team in the business behind you and they’re giving it everything.”
