Sharmaine Lovegrove leaves role at Dialogue for new cultural strategist position at Hachette UK

Sharmaine Lovegrove is to leave her role at Dialogue Books to take up a new position as cultural strategist at Hachette UK. The role is not full-time meaning, she will also work on projects outside of Hachette UK.

Lovegrove will take up the newly created role, working closely with members of the senior leadership team including Carrie Bloxson, senior vice-president of culture and diversity, equity and inclusion at Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK. She will also continue her work as co-patron of Changing the Story, a programme of employee networks, policy changes, partnerships and initiatives to improve diversity and inclusion.

Additionally, Lovegrove will become publisher-at-large for Dialogue and, based in Berlin, look to create new businesses that focus on readers and authors. Hannah Chukwu and Christina Demosthenous are to continue leading Dialogue Books and Renegade, the two imprints under the Dialogue publishing umbrella, but it has not been announced who will lead the division after Lovegrove leaves. It is the second senior management change at Hachette UK in a matter of weeks after Oli Malcolm departed Hodder & Stoughton at the beginning of November.

Lovegrove said: "15 years ago, I started Dialogue as a bookshop in Berlin. A scouting consultancy, an imprint and a division later, I am excited to return to my publishing entrepreneur roots in Berlin and create new businesses that focus on readers and authors, while also continuing to work closely with Carrie Bloxson and David Shelley [chief executive officer of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK] on driving and integrating cultural transformation at Hachette UK. I never thought I would become a corporate girly or stay so long, and I would like to thank everyone who has been part of Dialogue and individuals across Hachette for their commitment and ambition towards my vision and values. I am so proud to watch Dialogue and the incredible team that make it unique continue to reach new heights."

Lovegrove joined Hachette in July 2017 and founded Dialogue Books, which includes authors such as Brit Bennett, Liv Little and Mendez. She has also been shortlisted for editor of the year at The British Book Awards, was named Futurebook 2018’s person of the year and is a founding organiser of the Black Writers Guild. She also serves on the boards of Bookshop.org and the Black Cultural Archives.

Shelley said: "Ever since Sharmaine founded Dialogue seven years ago, she has been an incredible agent for change, both at Hachette and in the wider industry. At Dialogue, she has published some extraordinary books that have both won awards and found wide audiences. And as a co-lead (with Nick Davies) and now patron of Changing the Story, she has been not only a true thought-leader but also an invaluable partner to me in this initiative, which is vital to Hachette’s mission. Carrie Bloxson and I are really pleased to be working closely with Sharmaine going forward in her new cultural strategist role, which I believe will be instrumental in helping our business better mirror the readers we serve, and to reach even wider audiences for our authors’ books."