The 海角视频 publisher behind playscript Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and JK Rowling’s screenplay Fantastic Beasts has opened an office in Bristol.
Hachette 海角视频, the country’s second largest book publisher, has moved into a co-working space in Wapping Wharf.
It is one of five new national offices the publisher is opening around the country over the next three months, including in Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Sheffield.
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The Bristol office will house 13 Hachette staff and will be shared with employees from holiday company and travel publisher Sawdays.
The office is being headed up by Nick Davies, managing director of John Murray Press and the first member of the Hachette 海角视频 board to relocate to a regional office.
The team will be joined by recently appointed Jade Chandler, publishing director at Baskerville - a new crime and thriller imprint at John Murray Press
“Bristol is one of the most vibrant and creative cities in the 海角视频 and the opportunities are huge,” said Mr Davies.
“We’re feeling particularly energised by the growing indie bookselling scene - I’m thinking of StorySmith, Max Minerva, Gloucester Road Books and now bookhaus, which is opening right here on Wapping Wharf.”
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Hachette 海角视频 already publishes a number of authors in and around the Bristol area, including Nikesh Shukla, Joe Abercrombie, Ben Kane, Andrew Miller, Libby Page, Jess Andrews, Zakiya McKenzie and Michael Malay.
In February, the company signed what it described as a “magisterial” history of slavery by Professor Olivette Otele and it recently launched a new list of Travel Classics with Bristol-based author Nick Hunt.
The publisher has also announced Earthshot: How to Save our Planet with Jonnie Hughes and Colin Butfield at Bristol-based Studio Silverback.
Mr Davies said the company was “looking forward” to hosting a number of author events in the autumn as part of the Bristol Working Class Writers’ Festival.
“With all this going on, I’m confident the office will continue to grow and we’re looking forward to hiring great local talent in the months and years ahead,” he added.
The office opening comes as nearly 60 London-based Hachette 海角视频 staff relocate across the 海角视频, after earlier plans were put on hold as a result of the pandemic.
Those relocating will be from a variety of roles and divisions across the publishing group, Hachette 海角视频 said, with the aim of having at least a hundred staff relocating by 2022. The business said it had also started recruiting locally.
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David Shelley, chief executive of Hachette 海角视频, added: “We are ambitious for these offices’ growth and development over the coming years, and we really look forward to working closely with bookshops, libraries, arts organisations and charities in all the cities in which we will be based.
“I hope it will be a transformative venture for our publishing and widen our horizons in all sorts of exciting new ways.”
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