Wilkins retires from Tamarind

Verna Wilkins, publisher of Tamarind, has retired following 20 years of building the Tamarind multicultural publisher.

Wilkins, who won the Decibel British Book Awards in 2008, sold the list to Random House Children’s Books in 2007.

She said: “Tamarind’s acquisition by RHCB has proved to be an excellent move forward. I am delighted that the list has grown from three or four books a year to ten.”

Wilkins is succeeded by Patsy Isles who joins the company as the new Tamarind commissioning editor. Isles previously worked on the Voyager editorial team at HarperCollins and is a published author.

Wilkins will continue in a consultancy role, liaising with external agents, during 2010.