In a press release from the London Book Fair dated April 14, HarperCollins announced the expansion of its foreign-language publishing with the formation of HarperCollins Holland, HarperCollins Japan, HarperCollins Nordic (Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark), and HarperCollins Polska (Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia). The move, which builds on the Harlequin acquisition last year, gives the company a broader global reach by extending existing Harlequin publishing programs in those markets. It had been signaled April 10 with the appointment of Chantal Restivo-Alessi, HarperCollins (HC) chief digital officer, as executive VP, international.

HC plans to publish 30–50 new titles by English-language HC authors starting in fall 2015 in 15 foreign-language markets, including the new divisions; the expansion won’t diminish the Harlequin publishing programs in those areas.

“The growth of our foreign-language publishing program is proceeding as we had envisioned,” said Brian Murray, HC president and CEO. “We have seen great success in coordinated global publishing in the English language—lining up marketing, sales, and publicity in multiple markets simultaneously. Now, we are able to extend the effort even further.”

HC kicked off the new divisions with the announcement that Karin Slaughter, best-selling author of the Grant County and Will Trent novels, had signed a four-book deal that includes both world English and foreign-language rights. The first title to be published, Pretty Girls, is scheduled for September 2015; it will be released in Holland in June and the UK in July. Other best sellers in the initial list include authors Daniel Silva, Faye Kellerman, and Stephanie Laurens.

The deal also marks the return of Slaughter to the HC fold—HC published her first several novels—and reunites her with her longtime Random House UK editor, Kate Elton, now executive publisher at HarperCollins UK.

“Karin is quite simply one of the best, most exciting, and most creatively ambitious thriller writers working today…. I’m incredibly excited about the scope for huge international brand growth,” said Elton.

Beyond her best-selling books, Slaughter is well known in library circles for writing and speaking out on behalf of libraries, as well as for fundraising activities through her Save the Libraries foundation, which has garnered more than $250,000.

UK-based Faber Partners with Perseus on Global Publishing

Just as companies like HarperCollins have established a footprint in the UK and foreign-language markets, so Faber & Faber, one of the UK’s leading independent publishing houses, has turned its attention to the U.S. arena. On the eve of the London Book Fair in April, in a joint press release with Perseus Books Group, Faber revealed that it would publish under its own name in the United States directly, with distribution via Perseus’s client service’s business, PGW. Books will be published globally in both print and digital formats for the first time. And Faber and Perseus also will offer the new model to hundreds of UK publishers to help them build their U.S. presence.

In a statement, Faber CEO Stephen Page said, “Digital publishing and marketing has given independent publishers the power to reach consumers and sell books more effectively and affordably all over the world.” While he called the U.S. market “complex,” he also said that as the “largest English-language market,” it offers myriad “opportunities” to independent UK publishers. “What we are building is a marketing and selling model for publishers with no editorial resource in the USA. It’s a substantial opportunity and a response to global alignments for independents.”

Faber’s direct publishing in the United States will entail hiring a dedicated marketing and publicity team here to handle 60 new titles per year to be published starting in spring 2016, as well as a backlist of over 1,000 titles. Faber titles include 12 Nobel Laureates in Literature and six Booker winners.

The new partnership builds on Faber and Perseus’s already existing UK joint venture, Faber Factory Powered by Constellation, a digital publishing platform. David Steinberger, CEO of Perseus, said, “The dream of integrated global print and electronic publishing is finally a reality.”