Pan Macmillan

The 2025 Picador Showcase took place on Monday evening at Underbelly Boulevard in Soho with Mary Mount, Picador publisher, introducing the event, which was hosted by the Scottish writer Jackie Kay. The event attracted booksellers, media, scouts, event organisers, retailers and influencers, with speakers including Sathnam Sanghera, Emma Stonex, Mark Kermode and Jenny Nelson, Brian Bilston, Karen Solie and a special audio reading by Stephanie Racine from Megan Hunter's Days of Light, along with video recordings from Molly Jong Fast and S.J. Fleet (aka The Secret Barrister). Thank you to everyone who came along and made it a memorable night! https://lnkd.in/eBUpYWFj

Every MP across the country will receive a copy of Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams’ book Careless People on behalf of Molly Rose Foundation, in a partnership with Pan Macmillan. Molly Rose Foundation was set up following the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell. A coroner concluded that the effects of online content viewed on social media “contributed to her death in a more than minimal way”. Molly was algorithmically exposed to a torrent of depressive, suicide and self-harm content on Instagram. The inquest heard she had seen more than 2,000 posts relating to suicide, self-harm and depression on the platform in the months before her death. The charity has sent the books to MPs to highlight the preventable harm caused by Meta’s platforms and the importance of being able to scrutinise the culture, practices and leadership of tech firms that expose users and society to harm. The book has been sent to MPs the week after parts of the Online Safety Act came into force, with concerns Ofcom’s timid approach to regulation requires decisive action from the Prime Minister to fix the regime. Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation said: “Sarah Wynn-Williams is the latest in a series of whistleblowers who have acted at great personal cost to show how Meta puts its bottom line and commercial interests ahead of the safety of children. Her claims that Meta cynically exploited the wellbeing of teenage girls to grow its advertising revenue will deeply disturb parents and put the conduct of Meta’s leadership under the spotlight. At a time when the UK risks going backwards on online safety, lawmakers should carefully heed the crucial testimony of whistleblowers. The safety of our children and society cannot be left to unchecked tech oligarchs or traded-off for their promises of further investment. MPs must be tasked with strengthening the Online Safety Act and we hope this book will help to achieve that.” Read the full letter via the link below. https://lnkd.in/eH_MVUrB

The LibGen Data Set - What we are doing: A recent article in the Atlantic (https://lnkd.in/eE-FwNpR) published a searchable database of over 7.5 million books called Library Genesis or 'LibGen' for short, comprising pirated copyright protected content which has been used without authorisation to develop AI systems by Meta. This has understanably caused deep concern for many of our authors, illustrators and agents, some of whom have been in touch with us. For those who we haven't been able to reach directly over the course of the last few days, we want you to know that we are aware of LibGen and understand your concern. There have been numerous court cases against LibGen and attempts to block it. We have an active anti-piracy team which monitors and regularly issues takedown notices against pirated content. Pan Macmillan takes the issue of copyright and AI very seriously. As an active member of the Publisher's Association (PA) AI Taskforce and the Creative Rights in AI Coalition, we have undertaken a number of lobbying efforts to bring the government's attention to the way in which copyrights have been mined for AI training and to prevent any softening of the copyright regime in response to this. We have organised a letter writing campaign to all our people and given them access to a template so that everyone can write to their MP on the matter. We made a formal submission to the government's consultation on copyright and AI both individually and through the PA. We have been taking part in the 'Make It Fair' campaign which ran across every UK national and regional newspaper and used the slogan at the London Book Fair and across our email, web site and newsletters for the month of February. We are a signatory to the Oxford Institute of Ethics in AI's Oxford Consulation on Copyright and AI (https://lnkd.in/e6Fh9ErP) Our Global AI Lead Sara Lloyd has also been active, meeting with Lords and MPs on the issue, and we are continuing with this work and campaign. You can also find some helpful guidance from the Society of Authors here: https://lnkd.in/e66a38PZ

Our Adult Rights team spent last week at The London Book Fair, meeting with hundreds of international publishers and talking about our wonderful books and authors. Mairead Loftus tells us all we need to know about the fair... For a Rights team, the book fair is a chance to connect with the publishers we work with but rarely get to see, and to meet new people, and is the point of the year at which all the work we have been doing coalesces and we get to talk about our very favourite thing; books! This LBF felt like the busiest it has ever been since the pandemic, so we spent three days on our stand, taking a combined 170 meetings (mostly back to back, with hardly a bathroom break in between!) with publishers from throughout the world, hoping to convince them to take a chance on our books, out of the hundreds of great books that they will encounter over the book fair period, to publish them in North America or translate them into their own languages. As a large publisher with a very broad list, we were pitching everything from cosy romance to dark, gritty thrillers, and practical guides about physical and mental health alongside deep dives into history and data-driven exposés of systemic bias. One of the stars of the show was Lucy Jane Wood’s magical debut REWITCHED, which as well as being a Sunday Times bestseller, has sold in North America and in twelve languages, with more in the works. We were also extremely proud to be selling the third book from Travis Baldree, the bestselling author of LEGENDS & LATTES, which has sold in 24 languages. One of the most interesting parts of a book fair is understanding that challenges and opportunities are different in every market, and yet also very similar in many ways. In the UK, we’re seeing the beginnings of another wave of colouring book fervour, whereas in countries like Bulgaria or Hungary, there are no such rumblings, and it will take a while for the trend to reach there (if it ever does!). In Poland, romantasy is hugely popular, sometimes to the detriment of other genres, but in the Scandinavian countries, some publishers are reluctant to acquire in this space. And with TikTok being so essential to the sales of so many books, publishers are working quickly to keep up with the trends - but trends change so quickly that it can be hard to move quickly enough for international publishers to get in on the fun! As busy and sometimes exhausting as book fairs can feel, they are equally invigorating and stimulating. Selling rights is all about relationships, and there’s no better way to nurture existing relationships or to create new ones than to meet face to face. Sometimes a thirty minute chat can do more than six weeks of emailing back and forth, so there’s no way to overstate the importance of book fairs. And we now have just over six months to recover, before we’re onto the next big one; Frankfurt! #publishing #publishingcareers #rights #londonbookfair #books

"I feel really motivated by the idea of getting a child interested in a book. There’s nothing better to me. Also, when it comes to marketing – which a lot of my jobs have been – young people are always at the forefront of that, so we always have to be ahead of the game. It’s really interesting and very much keeps you on your toes." Alison Ruane, managing director of Macmillan Children's Books talks to Caroline Carpenter The Bookseller about MCB's publishing strategy in the face of declining numbers of young people reading for pleasure; the importance of middle grade and young fiction, and her plans for growth. https://lnkd.in/eNgPx8pK

We’re delighted to announce that we are a 2025 Inspiring Workplaces Awards Finalist! We’re thrilled to be recognised by Inspiring Workplaces as a Finalist in the 2025 UK & Ireland Inspiring Workplaces Awards, proudly sponsored by Prezzee. You can read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e8Zm8-YX Celebrating its 10th year, Inspiring Workplaces™ honours organisations that put their #PeopleFirst, creating cultures of trust, purpose, and belonging. More than just a great place to work, these workplaces empower individuals to thrive. Fuelling innovation, performance, and lasting impact. We’re honoured to be among organisations that are shaping the future of work for the second year running. Congratulations to the other finalists and we look forward to celebrating with you at the awards in May. #InspiringWorkplacesAwards #Finalist #PeopleFirst #EmployeeExperience #WorkplaceCulture #UK #Ireland #Awards #publishing

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams has sold more than 3,000 copies in the UK in three days since publishing last Thursday (13th March). This comes despite Meta last week successfully securing an interim injunction to silence the author, and as a result of the hardback sales, the book will be a Number Four Sunday Times bestseller this weekend. The book sold 2,832 hardbacks through Nielsen's TCM in three days on sale with additional strong sales across e-book and audio, the audiobook has remained at no.2 in the Audible chart since publication, and the US edition, published by Flatiron Books, is at no.3 on Amazon.com. Joanna Prior, CEO, Pan Macmillan, said: "Careless People sold a staggering 1,000 hardbacks a day in the first three days on sale in the UK, despite Meta’s legal tactics to silence the book’s author, Sarah Wynn-Williams. At Pan Macmillan, we would like to thank everyone who has supported this brilliant and urgent book and helped to secure a Sunday Times bestseller this weekend: our retailers, the media and, most importantly, our readers and listeners. This early success is a triumph against Meta’s attempt to stop the publication of this book. We are proud to publish Careless People and will continue to support Sarah's right to tell her story."

Every year we work with Book Aid International to identify books that can be donated to libraries and schools in developing countries around the world. Last year, we donated 191,853 books to 193 partners in 23 countries, ensuring that millions of people in some of the world's most marginalised countries had the opportunity to read. Read more about Book Aid's work via the link below. 🌍📚

"Early years – and by early years, I really mean those first 1,000 days – are crucial and we can make a huge difference there for very little cost." Waterstones Children's Laureate and Macmillan Children's Books author Frank Cottrell-Boyce speaks to Caroline Carpenter about his mission to champion the importance of early years development. https://lnkd.in/eybTF77c

Today we publish #CarelessPeople: A story of where I used to work by Sarah Wynn Williams. The 'jawdropping' (Financial Times) memoir is based on the author's seven years at Meta (formerly Facebook), eventually as global director of public policy. From wild schemes cooked up on private jets to risking prison abroad, #CarelessPeople exposes both the personal and political fallout when boundless power and a rotten culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative, Wynn-Williams rubs shoulders with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and world leaders, revealing what really goes on among the global elite – and the consequences this has for all of us Candid and entertaining, this is an intimate memoir set amid powerful forces. As all our lives are upended by technology and those who control it, Careless People will change how you see the world.