Even though I was recently voted only the fourth most influential person in my own house, I’m intrigued by The Bookseller’s annual list of the 100 leading individuals across the business.
It seems somewhat…safe. Or as if it seeks not to offend. If you have one CEO, you have to have them all. Do you become inherently more influential when a successful repeating author happens to deliver their book? I guess I am saying, really, that you need to define ‘influence’.
I know this list is about the book trade overall, but by any reckoning there are at least another 100 names out there who really matter because they actually make a material difference to the success or failure of a publishing house. John Hamilton, Penguin’s Art Director and someone acknowledged in every Jamie Oliver book as integral to each project. Robert Lacey, editor extraordinaire to a myriad of successful writers. There are others.
Who do you think should join the list?