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Laura Whitaker-Jones has been promoted to head of marketing and publicity at Watkins Media.
Before moving to the UK in 2019, Whitaker-Jones was the senior marketing and publicity manager at Phoenix International Publications (PIP), an associate editor at Bloomsbury USA and a marketing assistant at HarperCollins USA.
She joined Watkins Media in July 2020, and led her team in expanding the press globally. Campaigns she has overseen include Nisha Katona’s 30 Minute Mowgli, Stephen Ellcock and Mat Osman’s England on Fire, Kodo Nishimura’s This Monk Wears Heels, Jackie Lynch’s The Happy Menopause and Kerrie-Anne Bradley’s Move More at Your Desk.
In her role, she is overseeing the global marketing and publicity teams for the Watkins, Nourish and Duncan Baird imprints. “I’m utterly thrilled to have found a home at Watkins,” she said. “Not only do I love the authors and titles, but I’m incredibly grateful to work for a company that actively strives to leave an indelible positive impact on the world.
“I’m also fortunate to lead a team of rising stars within the publishing industry and work alongside brilliant colleagues who are as dedicated to creating incredible, thought-provoking books as I am.”
Watkins publisher Fiona Robertson said: “Laura has built an incredible marketing and publicity team at Watkins. She’s doing a phenomenal job crafting innovative and attention-grabbing campaigns and she’s helping power Watkins and Nourish into a fantastic era of high-profile, cutting-edge publishing. She’s so passionate about getting our books the attention they deserve, and she’s also an absolute joy to work with, just fizzing with energy and ideas!”
Vicky Hartley, deputy m.d., said: “Since Laura’s arrival on to the team in early 2020, she has been a force of nature. She rebuilt the marketing and publicity team at Watkins and Nourish from the ground up, streamlining systems to give the team all the tools they needed to reach audiences within our niche areas and beyond. Driving promotion in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, she has spearheaded closer relationships not just across her own imprints but all the other imprints at Watkins Media.”