Weidenfeld & Nicolson looks back to the future under Jenny Lord

Seventy-five years after it was founded by George Weidenfeld and Nigel Nicolson, the Weidenfeld & Nicolson imprint—part of Orion—is on the up with a new brand look, a new mission statement, and a renewed focus under executive publisher Jenny Lord, and a top team, including publishing directors Juliet Annan, Alexa von Hirschberg, Lettice Franklin and Ed Lake.

“It doesn’t take much time to discover a W&N author in the wild—Vladimir Nabokov, Isaiah Berlin, Eric Hobsbawm, Vita Sackville-West, Antony Beevor, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Gillian Flynn and Antonia Fraser—and figure out why, wild or not, such writers are still read today.”

Lord, who spent time at Penguin and then Canongate before moving to Orion in 2016 and stepping up in 2019, says the list wants to build on the “wild audacity” of its first incarnation, true to its roots but with a modern twist. She sees herself as a custodian, addressing herself and her team to what they can do now. “What do we want the legacy of our custodianship to be? What books and writers do we want to define our period of shepherding this illustrious list with such a rich history? These are questions we are continually asking ourselves.”

It doesn’t take much time to discover a W&N author in the wild—Vladimir Nabokov, Isaiah Berlin, Eric Hobsbawm, Vita Sackville-West, Antony Beevor, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Gillian Flynn and Antonia Fraser—and figure out why, wild or not, such writers are still read today. “We see the future in the early days of the imprint. The list back then was marked by a wild audacity

and a steadfast commitment to the notion that a publisher’s role extends beyond publishing works of readability or quality and is as much about intellectual provocation and nourishment.”

Lord can point to Philippe Sands, Téa Obreht, Bernhard Schlink and Bettany Hughes as modern heirs to that past, with new publishing from the likes of Richard Coles, Ian Dunt and Chimene Suleyman evidence of how the list can broaden. “Our vision for the imprint is straightforward: we want to be a reliably high quality and trusted brand for discerning readers while at the same time staying unpredictable, leading popular tastes and conversations and creating a new generation of star authors and thinkers.”

BUILDING THE TEAM

Lord’s vision extends to her hirings, too. Before she took the helm the fiction and non-fiction lists were run by separate publishers with separate strategies. “It was an obvious move to consolidate everything under one vision.”

“When it comes to hiring, I am not interested in finding editors to fit a prescribed remit. The composition of our list is heavily influenced by the tastes of the team—and I strongly believe that’s the way it should be. I want to work with remarkable people who know how to ignite contagious curiosity in the ideas and books that obsess them. We take our work incredibly seriously, but we have a lot of fun doing it and I think that’s so important.” In addition to those referenced earlier, she also mentions Maddy Price, “an exceptional history publisher”.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the chance to build a team of editors who all bring their singular personalities, expertise and obsessions to their publishing. Our editorial meetings offer a weekly pinch-yourself moment for me . . . When I read a submission that gets my heart racing, I get genuinely excited and nervous about what Lettice, Ed, Maddy, Juliet or Alexa might make of it. If we can’t ignite something in each other then we know it’s probably best to move on. But when we all unite behind a project that we really believe in, there is nothing quite like it.”

Of course W&N operates in the serious and therefore harder to sell section of the marketplace, even if such writing, when it lands well, can endure. “The breadth and range of our publishing is incredibly important to us,” says Lord, but keenness can only get a publisher so far. She takes insight from the rest of the Orion Group, as well as sister imprints White Rabbit and Phoenix that she also oversees.

It is 18 months since Orion m.d. Anna Valentine created three distinct divisions—literary, commercial non-fiction and commercial fiction—that groups imprints by area of expertise. Lord says this has been a success. “This has really helped us carve out a stronger identity as a literary hub within Orion and since day one, the potential to cross-pollinate across the three imprints has felt like a uniquely thrilling opportunity for us. So many of our writers on W&N feel an affinity with either White Rabbit or Phoenix—and vice versa—and we always look for ways that we can take advantage of that.” She adds that the lack of “lack of [internal] competition feels important. The whole thing works by bringing the most compelling and important writing to the widest possible readership.”

ESSENTIAL READING

The 75th year brings with it a relaunching of the W&N Essentials list, as well as three titles by Helen Garner, who first published in the 1970s. “Our 75th anniversary gives us the opportunity to celebrate everything that has led us up to this point—it really is an extraordinary legacy. But more importantly it is a chance to focus on the future.” Other activities include an author party, a new cohesive brand look for the imprint, a branded W&N Bookshop.org store with activity concentrated around Independent Bookshop Week, and 2025 W&N Début Spotlight Proof Parties at Cheltenham and Henley literature festivals.

Ahead of its 60th anniversary, the then Lord Weidenfeld told The Bookseller that he was always less interested in administration than the books. “I have always been most interested in bringing in authors and ideas.”

Lord’s perspective has echoes of that, with Hachette still a good base from which to explore outwards. Says Lord: “We firmly believe that the key to continued commercial viability lies in acquiring and publishing with unwavering conviction in the value of exceptional literature and important ideas. One way or another the average person reads more each day than at any time since the invention of the Phoenician alphabet. This is an incredibly sophisticated audience, and finding the writing that interests them is what being a literary publisher means.”

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