Redundancies at Unbound as publisher 'pauses' digital list

Unbound has made four people redundant and imposed a “pause” on accepting submissions for its digital list, the company has revealed.

The company, which has just announced a partnership with Bloomsbury, said the decision had been made following a “strategic review” of its business that identified the need to streamline its trade publishing programme. Four redundancies were made over the summer, it admitted yesterday.

Sources told The Bookseller the redundancies had been made in July at Unbound's digital imprint, which was being “wound down”, although Unbound said the list, headed by veteran employee Xander Cansell, was merely paused.

The news comes 18 months after Unbound made a third of its 12-strong commissioning team redundant in a “strategic reorganisation”. It was revealed on Twitter at the time by ex-Gollancz associate publisher Simon Spanton, who said he had been let go after just over a year.

Unbound said, following the latest review, it was launching its first pre-order partnership with Bloomsbury. The company will open its platform to a number of Bloomsbury titles this autumn and in spring 2020, driving pre-orders with exclusive incentives and rewards.

Dan Kieran, c.e.o. of Unbound said: “Unbound’s mission has always been to bring readers and authors together, and we are constantly looking for innovative ways to enhance the reader experience and to help authors get closer to their fans. We’re really excited to be opening a new and high-value route to market for traditional publishers.”

Nicola Hill, group director for consumer marketing and publicity at Bloomsbury, added:  "Bloomsbury is delighted to be working with Unbound to create opportunities to drive awareness of some of our key titles via this ingenious pre-awareness campaign partnership.  We look forward to working together to discover new ways to give our readers and fans bespoke pre-order incentives and experiences."

Back in May, the firm launched a funding campaign through Crowdcube with the aim of expanding its US operation. The firm raised £1.3m, attracting 624 investors. 

Unbound has now appointed Consortium Book Sales & Distribution for its US sales and distribution. Consortium will be handling up to 20 new titles from Unbound each publishing season.