Publishing News reports that Christopher MacLehose, who up until July had been chief overseer of Harvill (known for devoting much of its energis to literature and crime fiction in translation) has moved over to Quercus, helmed by Anthony Cheetham. Under a new imprint to be called MacLehose Press, Quercus will publish six to ten books a year from autumn 2007, almost exclusively foreign literature in translation.
He told PN: “I had always intended to do this ever since Random House and myself parted company, and indeed, I even asked if they would like to distribute the books. But I hadn’t made any moves with regard to backing, so Anthony’s call in the summer was fortuitous. Obviously, I have known him for many years and have great admiration for him – he’s a born publisher.” MacLehose then compared big and small houses with regards to the risk each can take, and that – rightly so – big houses are chiefly concerned with the bottom line. “I will say however, that Random House has taken some risks – Euan Cameron at Harvill has brought in titles from Argentina. I would love to see that spirit elsewhere – why do publishing houses in Europe publish far more literature in translation than their equivalents here?” Good question…