HarperCollins Expands Foreign Language Publishing

At the London Book Fair yesterday HarperCollins announced a significant expansion of its foreign language publishing program. The company rebranded a number of Harlequin's international publishing assets as HaperCollins Holland, HarperCollins Japan, HarperCollins Nordic, and HarperCollins Polska.

These new global offices join HarperCollins Germany, HarperCollins Iberica, and HarperCollins Español, all of which were created shortly after the publisher's acquisition of Harlequin last summer. Leading these global divisions will be chief digital officer Chantal Restivo Alessi who will take on the additional role of EVP of international, the publisher announced Friday.

HarperCollins also revealed yesterday new book deals with bestselling authors Karin Slaughter, Daniel Silva, and Alyson Noel, which mark the beginning of its global publishing efforts. The publisher plans to release these authors' works across 15 foreign language markets simultaneously. It is the first time HarperCollins has signed multi-language publishing deals of this nature.

"This is an exciting time for the company as we transition from an English language publisher to a truly global one," said HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray in a company-wide memo, "This new structure will ensure that we make the best decisions for our authors and our business as we dramatically expand our global footprint."

See the complete press release below.

London Book Fair (April 14, 2015) - HarperCollins Publishers today announced the expansion of its foreign language publishing program with the formation of HarperCollins Holland, HarperCollins Japan, HarperCollins Nordic (comprised of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark), and HarperCollins Polska (comprised of Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia), an extension of the existing Harlequin publishing programs in those locations. Each market will publish a list of 30-50 HarperCollins books starting in Fall 2015. The existing Harlequin programs will continue.

The programs will initially launch with several #1 internationally bestselling authors including Karin Slaughter and Daniel Silva, as well as Faye Kellerman, Stephanie Laurens, and Alyson Noel, all to be published in 15 foreign language markets. Each local list will be further curated with titles tailored to the individual markets.