Pan Mac launches dedicated business imprint with three 'major' pre-empts

Pan Macmillan is launching a new dedicated business imprint, Macmillan Business, with three major pre-empt deals.  

It will be led by non-fiction publishing director Mike Harpley and will publish between eight and 12 books each year. Harpley will oversee the direction of the imprint, while continuing to acquire non-fiction more broadly across the Pan division including current affairs, popular science, history and sports. He is joined by editor Ause Abdelhaq who recently moved to Pan Mac from Penguin Business.  

Harpley secured UK and British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to three books, including Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History by Ben Mezrich which was acquired from James Munro at WME. Breaking Twitter "pulls back the curtain" on the biggest business story of recent times, and features inside access to key sources and has already attracted “major” Hollywood interest. It will publish in October 2023. Mezrich is a thriller and non-fiction author who frequently writes about the tech world; his 2009 book Accidental Billionaires was adapted by Aaron Sorkin for the David Fincher film "The Social Network".  

Harpley’s second pre-empt is Bend the Arc by Melonie Parker acquired from Devon Mazzone at Holt. Parker is Google’s chief diversity officer. Her book blends personal storytelling and lessons from her career in tech to provide a blueprint for how we can "cultivate authentic diversity in our communities, our organisations, and our companies" and will publish in 2025. 

Think Faster, Talk Smarter by Matt Abrahams was acquired in a pre-empt from Victoria Hobbs at A M Heath. The book reveals the secrets to finding the right words when it matters most⁠, with its title taken from Abrahams’ hit podcast. Publication is slated for September 2023. Abrahams is a Stanford University professor in organisational business who writes and lectures on public communication and anxiety. His previous title is 2016’s Speaking Up Without Freaking Out (Kendall Hunt).     

Harpley said: “I’m thrilled to announce Macmillan Business on the global stage at this year’s London Book Fair and with three major books that brilliantly sum up my ambitions for the list. With an emphasis on quality of writing, clarity of thought and bold new ideas, I’ll be continuing to publish the best and most curious minds in business today, while seeking out and establishing emerging voices in the commercial sphere.”