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Orion looks to the future with restructure
Published February 29, 2012 by Charlotte Williams
The Orion Publishing Group is to undergo a restructure, with the existing trade division and paperback division to be replaced in April by the...
The Orion Publishing Group is to undergo a restructure, with the existing trade division and paperback division to be replaced in April by the Orion Fiction division and Orion General division, with a "small number of redundancies" expected.
The new Orion Fiction division will be headed by Susan Lamb, and Orion General will be headed by Lisa Milton, previously managing directors of the paperback and trade divisions respectively.
Orion Fiction will be the group's biggest imprint, accounting for almost half of its frontlist sales, with authors including Maeve Binchy, Linwood Barclay and Ian Rankin.
Orion General will encompass the group's other imprints: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Phoenix Paperbacks, Gollancz and Orion Children's Books. All the group's non-fiction will be published by the General division.
In a statement, the publisher said staff in the paperback division will be "redeployed across the two new divisions. Orion are discussing these changes with everyone involved".
It added that a "small number of redundancies" will result from a "general audit of the group's processes", saying: "In addition, there will be restructures of the marketing and publicity departments, creating some significant new opportunities. A general audit of the group's processes in the light of these changes, and the constantly evolving market, will lead to some new positions being created but also to a small number of redundancies. Consultations on these will begin shortly with the people affected."
Deputy c.e.o. and group publisher Malcolm Edwards said: "Orion's structure has served us exceptionally well for our first two decades, but we need to look to the future. Changes in the publishing landscape—chiefly the ever-growing importance of e-books and all things digital—are emphasising the need for every book to have a tailored publishing strategy across its life in all its forms. Changing our structure will enable us better to design these strategies.
"I'm delighted that Susan and Lisa have accepted the challenge of leading these new divisions, which I believe will make us even more successful in the next 20 years than we have been in the last 20."
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