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 Posted - 23 February 2004 : 4:31:45 PM
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THE NEWS THAT, as of 1 March, Random House is to merge Harvill Press with Secker & Warburg has prompted fears as to the future of translated fiction within Harvill Secker, which will be under the direction of Geoff Mulligan, currently Secker Publishing Director. Christopher MacLehose, Publisher of Harvill for the past two decades, is relieved of the burden of administration and becomes Publisher-at-Large.
“I think one is bound to regret the apparent diminishing of literary lists,” said Derek Johns of A P Watt. “Geoff has done some translation at Secker & Warburg, which – though founded by two émigrés – is not as associated with translation as Harvill. No disrespect to Geoff, but it’s not quite his bag.” Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor of the Independent and the driving force behind the paper’s Foreign Fiction Prize, commented: “Secker is a very strong contender for the big British prizes and you feel they’re on the lookout for strong submissions. Harvill titles will have to compete for the same slots in the catalogue, and if there’s a conflict I fear Secker titles will win. Harvill has a unique place in British publishing and, of all the imprints, it’s the one we can least afford to lose.”
Scout Anne-Louise Fisher agreed. “Harvill has done something very few imprints have been able to do while maintaining the standard, and that’s the tragedy.”
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Fears as Harvill merges with Secker
