Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Toronto; January 14, 2021)

HarperCollins is delighted to announce a major three-book deal for World English Rights with internationally bestselling author Jeffrey Archer.  The deal was negotiated by CEO Charlie Redmayne, Managing Director Kate Elton, and Executive Publisher Kimberley Young, with James Archer and Alan Mitchell from Mitchell Rights Management.

Over the course of his career, spanning nearly fifty years, Archer has published over 37 titles and sold over 275 million copies around the world. Jeffrey’s books have been published in 97 countries and more than 33 languages. He has had 27 Sunday Times number one bestsellers. He is the only UK author ever to have been a number one best seller in fiction (20 times), short stories (4 times) and non-fiction (Prison Diaries).

OVER MY DEAD BODY is part of the internationally bestselling William Warwick series and will be the first to be published by HarperCollins simultaneously across our English language markets with fanfare in autumn 2021.

Charlie Redmayne, CEO, UK said:  ‘I’ve been a fan of Jeffrey Archer since first reading Kane and Abel, and it has been a constant irritation that my tenure at HarperCollins started after his fantastic run of books with us in the 1990s. I am delighted that the situation will now be rectified as he returns to us, his ambition to entertain his readers as strong as ever and with many incredible stories to tell.’

Jeffrey Archer said: ‘I’ve had eighteen wonderful years with Pan Macmillan, whose outstanding team I’ve been proud to work with. However, after completing my contract with them, I am delighted and excited to be returning to HarperCollins, who successfully published me for so many years.  I’m looking forward to them joining me on William Warwick’s next stage of his journey, from inspector to commissioner.’

Kate Elton, Managing Director, UK said: ‘Jeffrey Archer is, quite simply, one of the world’s greatest storytellers.  He combines sheer unputdownable pace with a cleverness and intricacy of plotting that is rarely matched, and the hundreds of millions of copies he’s sold around the world are a monumental testament to his skill.  It is a huge privilege to be working with him.’

Kimberley Young, Executive Publisher, UK said: ‘A key part of the HarperFiction strategy is to add to our roster of blockbuster authors. 2020 saw us deliver a record number of #1s, and the opportunity to work with Jeffrey Archer, who is a #1 bestseller and a legendary storyteller – feels like the perfect match. We are thrilled he is making a home at HarperFiction.’

Leo MacDonald Senior Vice-President Sales & Marketing, Canada said:

‘HarperCollins Canada is thrilled to represent an author of such esteemed stature as Jeffrey Archer. We, along with his dedicated Canadian fans, look forward to the release of his new bestseller OVER MY DEAD BODY this fall.’

ABOUT HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Known worldwide for the quality of its list, HarperCollinsCanada is the proud home of many bestselling authors, including Esi Edugyan, Heather O’Neill, Lawrence Hill, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Mark Sakamoto, Ayelet Tsabari, Emily St. John Mandel, Tracey Lindberg, Tara Westover, Hilary Mantel, Rachel Cusk, Anthony Horowitz, Uzma Jalaluddin, Kim Fu, Carrianne Leung, Ellen Keith, Jael Richardson, Emma Donoghue, Helen Humphreys and Thomas King, among many more found at harpercollins.ca.

HarperCollins Publishers is the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 17 countries. With 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages, and has a print and digital catalog of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and the Booker Prize. HarperCollins, headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and can be visited online at corporate.HC.com.