Stein joins DK Children's in new role

DK has announced the appointment of Arabella Stein to the newly created role of trade strategy director for DK Children’s.   

She will join on 8th January 2024 and report to Sarah Larter, m.d. for DK Children’s.   

Her remit will involve “shaping the ambitious growth plans as well as commissioning across children’s fiction and YA to further expand the DK’s children’s list”, DK said. She will build the DK Children’s list and develop the publisher’s relationships with exciting talent from across the world of authors and illustrators.  

Her appointment follows the “comprehensive restructure” of DK’s publishing divisions, announced in October, including the creation of four new m.d. roles.  

Stein has over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, both as a publisher and an agent. She held positions as publishing director at Bloomsbury, leading the paperback team, and was director and literary agent at Abner Stein, before joining The Bright Agency in 2016. There she was m.d. for seven years before stepping down in August.

During her time at the company, Stein founded Bright Literary, representing fiction, children’s books, YA, general non-fiction and graphic novels, and founded the Alligator’s Mouth Award with the Alligator’s Mouth Bookshop.  

Stein said: “DK is a publisher I have admired for many years, and I am particularly pleased to join at such an exciting time for the Children’s list. After seven very happy years at The Bright  Agency, moving to work with Paul, Sarah and the team is an unparalleled opportunity. I very much look forward to playing a part in DK Children’s growth plans with the commitment to sustaining and developing new relationships with authors and illustrators in the UK and internationally in place.”  

Larter said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Arabella is joining the children’s team at DK, her boundless energy, incredible experience and inherent ability to discover outstanding creative talent make her the perfect person to work with us to innovate and grow our list.”  

DK c.e.o. Paul Kelly said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Arabella to the DK team. She brings with her a wealth of experience in children’s publishing, and is highly regarded across the industry for her eye for discovering new talent and her dedication to nurturing her clients and helping them to succeed. Working closely with Sarah and the talented team, she will take DK’s Children’s publishing to the next level.”