PUSHKIN PRESS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Publisher
Adam has worked in publishing since 1998 and before joining Pushkin Press in 2012 was Publisher of Penguin Classics, Modern Classics and Reference from 2004 to 2012. At Pushkin Adam has launched the Pushkin Children's Books, Pushkin Vertigo, Pushkin Press Classics and ONE imprints, and he is particularly proud to have published the first translation of The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt (translated by Laura Watkinson) and Jakob Wegelius's dazzlingly original The Murderer's Ape (translated by Peter Graves); as well as to have introduced the acclaimed American short story writer Edith Pearlman to British readers (with Binocular Vision) and Israeli writer Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (her most recent novel is The Wolf Hunt, translated by Sondra Silverston). Translation was and remains a passion for Adam - and for Pushkin - with books translated from at least 27 languages; in 2023 Pushkin published its first translations from Korean and Yiddish! Born in Baltimore, Adam lived near Düsseldorf and in Berlin for nearly three years before settling in the UK in 1997. Adam brings his passion for international literature and exquisitely designed books to Pushkin.
Alba de Céspedes (1911-97) was a bestselling Italian-Cuban novelist, poet and screenwriter. The granddaughter of the first President of Cuba, de Céspedes was raised in Rome. Married at 15 and a mother by 16, she began her writing career after her divorce at the age of 20. She worked as a journalist throughout the 1930s while also taking an active part in the Italian partisan struggle, and was twice jailed for her anti-fascist activities. After the fall of fascism, she founded the literary journal Mercurio and went on to become one of Italy's most successful and most widely translated authors. Forbidden Notebook is also published from Pushkin Press.
Her Side of the Story
Charlotte grew up in Bristol and studied English Literature with Philosophy at the University of Birmingham. Deciding to pursue a career in publishing, she moved to London and spent two years working in production for a mid-sized legal publishing company before joining Pushkin Press. Charlotte enjoys reading from a variety of genres, from modern bestsellers to cult classics, and has a particular interest in feminist, dystopian and LGBTQ+ books.
Born in London, Daniel Seton studied French and Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He worked in Paris and Brussels, before starting out in publishing in 2008 and moving to Pushkin Press in 2010. He is now is a commissioning editor, acquiring across all Pushkin's imprints, with a particular emphasis on children's books.
Job Titles:
- Publishing Operations Director
India studied Archaeology at Durham University. Beginning her publishing journey at Polity Press, she became passionate about exploring and promoting translated literature, leading her to join Pushkin in 2016. Her role involves managing the lives of our books, watching over them from title acquisition, to printing and beyond. She grew up in the US and loves to travel by book or by passport.
Jo has worked in publishing since 2002. She spent most of her life moving around, spending her formative years in Munich. She feels she was born to design book jackets and can't imagine doing anything else (except maybe a professional cheese taster). Jo joined Pushkin in 2020 and works part-time in house and part-time as a freelancer designing jackets for a variety of different publishers.
Juliet studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Before joining Pushkin Press in 2023, she worked at Felicity Bryan Associates, a literary agency based in Oxford, where she developed her editorial instincts and learned all about author care. Juliet is drawn to immersive literary fiction, inventive narrative non-fiction, and stylish writing in translation that stays with you long after turning the final page.
Job Titles:
- Publishing Director & Deputy
Laura joined Pushkin Press in 2016 and acquires fiction and non-fiction across the Pushkin Press and ONE lists. She loves the thrill of discovering exciting new voices as well as lost classics by talented authors from around the world. Before joining Pushkin Press, Laura worked as a bookseller for many years, and at Hodder & Stoughton. She established Daunt Books Publishing in 2010. Her authors include Lillian Li, Pajtim Statovci, Wayétu Moore and Madeleine Bourdouxhe.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing
- Part - Time Head of Marketing
Job Titles:
- Digital Marketing Executive
Rima completed her BA in English at Queen Mary University of London, where she first discovered the power of translated fiction - from medieval texts to post-colonial literature. She also thanks her intense university reading list for inspiring her to start a ‘Bookstagram' in 2015 and has been blogging about books on Instagram for seven years now. Her previous jobs were in a library, a bookshop and a software company but she is passionate about marketing books most of all. Rima believes there is a book out there for everyone, and she is so excited to be reaching new and wider audiences for Pushkin Press titles.
Rory was born in Glasgow and studied literature in Cambridge and Montreal. Before starting in publishing, he proofread a lot of academic essays and made a few decent flat whites. He's drawn to surprising or unusual books and likes to read widely across different cultures in translation.
Job Titles:
- Editor - at - Large, Pushkin Children 's Books
Sarah has worked in publishing since 1988 and most of that time in the world of books for young readers. As an editor she looks for great characters in wonderful plot driven stories. She reads widely and enjoys everything from baby board books to teen historical fiction and adult crime novels. She likes to travel and has for the last decade had a particular interest in visiting Brazil, particularly the North East of the country. Sarah is a co-founder of the children's magazine SCOOP and is a trustee of The Poetry Translation Centre.
Steven started working as a Christmas temp in Waterstones Edinburgh while he was studying for a Masters in Publishing, eventually moving to head office where he ran the chain's events team. This took him around the country to host events with some of literature's biggest names: Kazuo Ishiguro, Donna Tartt, Margaret Atwood, Dame Hilary Mantel, David Mitchell and Sarah Waters have all experienced events organised by Steven at some point in their careers. After taking a year out to study Mandarin in Shanghai, Steven returned to the publishing side of the book industry as a publicist at Hodder & Stoughton. He is a long time lover of translated fiction, LGBTQ+ literature and offbeat mid-20 th century thrillers; the perfect blend for his new post at Pushkin Press.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Publicity Assistant
Prior to joining Pushkin, Tom was a bookseller both before and after completing a degree at the University of Oxford, where he read English Language & Literature. Throughout, he has worked as a theatre reviewer and journalist for national publications in arts and sciences. Tom reads primarily new literary fiction, with a particular interest in writing on the boundary between novel and history.
We are not currently accepting unsolicited submissions, and unfortunately will be unable to respond to any manuscripts or pitches that we receive. We are still able to consider potential translation projects, and ask that you address any queries regarding these to books@pushkinpress.com.
Vicki studied Classical Studies with English Literature at Kings College London. After graduating she worked at the children's publisher Egmont in Publicity, followed by a long stint as a freelance publicist working with a number of publishers, before joining Pushkin Children's. Vicki is also a playwright who has worked on adaptations of books and original plays.