What it's like being a Publisher at a Big Five house in 2026

An interview with Christina Demosthenous (Penguin Random House) on how she came up in the industry, the moments that changed her, and what she looks for in new authors...

Hi everyone,

Today I am welcoming my lovely friend Christina to The Honest Editor. Christina and I have known each other for years now and we are always each other’s party buddy at publishing events! As well as that crucial role (!) she is the Publishing Director at Penguin Random House, an inspiring editor and colleague, and one of the smartest people in the business. Here she gives us an insight into how she got into the industry, along with help from the people who supported her, and tells us what she is up to now at PRH…

Hi Christina, welcome to the Honest Editor! Please can you tell us a bit about who you are and your career in publishing?

Thanks so much for having me, Phoebe! I’m currently a Publishing Director at Transworld, a division of Penguin Random House UK. When I was at University studying English Literature, I knew I wanted to keep working with books but I honestly had no idea that publishing was even an option! It was (and still is) a very closed-off industry, and it wasn’t until a friend who did an internship said to me, ‘You should work in publishing,’ that a lightbulb clicked! Once I graduated, I applied to every work experience opportunity under the sun – this was back in the day of free work experience, which is thankfully not really a thing anymore. After various free work experience placements at literary agents and a few publishers, I secured my first job.

It wasn’t an Editorial Assistant role – I applied for what felt like a million of those and didn’t get any. This was 15 years ago, so I flicked through the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook which feels very old school now! The role was in the post room of an independent publisher, Michael O’Mara Books.

Honestly, I was buzzing to have a foot in the door of an industry I feared I would never crack.

I was there for two years, manning reception and franking the post. I always credit two people for getting me into the industry – Philip Patterson, a literary agent at Marjacq, and Harriet Bourton, Publishing Director at Viking, Penguin General. Phil was having a baby at the time and my ex-boyfriend’s mother was his midwife! (This is still hilarious to me). She asked him if he could get me some work experience and he connected me with an editor at Hodder at Stoughton. At Hodder, I did a week and Harriet Bourton looked after me.

Two years later, while I was still in the postroom at Michael O’Mara Books – I received an email saying that Harriet has recommended me for my first Editorial role, and after an interview, I landed it!

So I very much believe in paying it forward, and helping others get into this industry.

That set me off on my Editorial career, and I haven’t looked back since! That first job was at Headline, a division of Hachette, which truly felt like a dream first job for a starry-eyed wannabe editor. A few years later, I moved to Bookouture, an incredible market-leading digital publisher where I learned SO much about commercial publishing and what it takes to do it really, really well. Next was Dialogue, which I go into in the next question, before my current job – Publishing Director of Bantam, Transworld’s commercial list which I really love and feel very lucky to be doing.

You were part of the Dialogue team at Hachette – can you tell us more about the books you published there and what being part of a new division was like?

It was amazing to join Dialogue just as it was becoming a new division. Dialogue was set up with a mission to publish books for everyone; a publishing house that is as diverse and inclusive as the world we live in. A new division comes with so much energy and dynamism – and setting up the commercial imprint, Renegade, was such a pinch-moment. It was creatively energising and exhilarating thinking about what we stood for, what the imprint should be called and what the logo should look like – and then publishing books that embodied that ethos. Joining a company with such an important ethos was fantastic on both a personal and professional level.

On a personal level, I feel very passionately about inclusive publishing and opening the industry up. I come from an immigrant family and I grew up in North London, and went to a state school that was hugely diverse. When I joined publishing, I was confused as to why it seemed so mono-cultural; not reflective of my life in any way.

On a professional level, it felt very special to publish with such purpose – lead by the belief that you are making a difference, and helping shaping meaningful change.

You now work at Penguin Random House – what was it like to make the move?

I was at Hachette for over a decade and it very much felt like home – so moving to Penguin Random House massively felt like I was leaving my comfort zone. But even though it felt daunting (always a bit scary starting a new job and having to prove yourself to a new team), honestly, it has been such a thrill. Even though Hachette and PRH are two of the Big Fives, they are pretty different and it has been great to immerse myself in this new world and see a different approach. You learn so much by joining a new company and Transworld is very special.

We publish some of the biggest authors of my lifetime (Lee Child, Jilly Cooper, Dan Brown, Sophie Kinsella), so I was pretty spellbound when I first joined, and Transworld is filled with some absolute publishing icons.

I’m managed by Bill Scott-Kerr, a total publishing legend, and our MD Kim Young is a total genius – a maverick who I absolutely relish learning from. Transworld really is the gold standard when it comes to publishing – the company publishes with such care and passion, it’s a joy to be part of this culture.

What are you looking for at PRH – anything on your wishlist?

I oversee the General Fiction list on Bantam, so my commissioning falls into this remit. I always tell agents I’m looking for the ‘hookiest hooks’ – I’m a sucker for a one-line pitch that feels genuinely original and fresh, and the kind of book you can sum up in less than a minute, and the person listening to you is HOOKED. I want books that make you feel all the feels – whether that’s laughter or sadness.

My taste leans towards reading-group fiction, women’s fiction and historical fiction, and I’m especially drawn to high-concept ideas that push boundaries, reimagine genres and challenge the status quo.

I remain passionate about inclusion, I’m seeking projects that bring under-represented perspectives to the forefront and expand what feels possible in commercial storytelling. Ultimately, I want books that make readers eager to press a copy into a friend’s hands and say, You have to read this.

In a challenging market, what do you think authors should be doing to help boost their own careers and increase their chances of success?

This is an interesting question as, to be honest, it’s really on us – the publishers – to make your book a success. It’s easy to get caught up in the current market, which is challenging, but I always hold firmly onto the idea that if we publish the very best books with care and passion, they will find their way into readers’ hands. When it comes to authors and their careers, I always encourage them to say yes to any opportunity that pops up. Even if it seems small, you never know where it might lead you – and I feel that all the little opportunities slowly build up and create momentum.

Can you tell us about a publishing highlight for you?

Setting up Renegade was a real highlight – there is so much creativity, joy and optimism that goes into setting up something, and it was such an honour to set up an imprint with such a meaningful mission behind it. The early days were a whirlwind and I learned a huge amount. I have also recently signed an author (yet to be announced) who I have loved ever since their debut – now to be working with them, and seeing their name pop up in my inbox, is quite literally a dream come true! Moments like this are what makes publishing so special.

And a moment you found challenging?

In my early days in publishing, I felt very out of place in this industry. I didn’t go to private school like so many of my peers, and my cultural touchpoints felt totally different – there were times I even felt like I wasn’t cultured enough or ‘bookish’ enough compared to everyone else. I was very lucky to have a manager at the time (Jen Doyle, Publishing Director at Headline), who I expressed my insecurities to, and thankfully she helped me see it in a different light. She told me that publishing needs different experiences and perspectives, and that’s what she loved about me. This was such a pivotal turning point for me, and I’m always grateful for that moment which has helped shape my drive to wanting this industry to welcome everyone. If I didn’t have Jen to give me such a boost at the time, I know I would have struggled to feel that I belonged here, so I always try to carry this forward and help others feel that they have a place.

You work closely with your authors - what is the most important thing to you when you are bringing a new writer to the list?

Great question! And I might cheat by answering with one than one thing. Something I’m always looking for is originality – that could be in the voice, in the concept, or in the way the plot unfolds. In such a crowded market, where we are competing with so many other forms of entertainment (TV, podcasts, social media etc.) and people are quite rightly careful with money in a cost-of-living crisis, I truly believe that originality is what helps us break through.

I also need the book to spark that flame of passion in me – that giddy feeling of butterflies that will push me to get everyone in the company just as obsessed with the novel as I am, and take everyone on the journey with me to publish the hell out of it and take it to market as creatively and impactfully as possible – again so crucial to stand out in such a competitive landscape.

You also help your team with their publishing - what kind of involvement do you have on the books when you are not the primary editor, how does that work in this role?

I have a brilliant team of five on the General Fiction list, four of who commission onto Bantam across General – that includes romance, women’s fiction, historical fiction, speculative and reading group. I manage three of the team but oversee all of the publishing – and this is a part of the job that I love. I support the team with their acquisitions, helping to analyse what a good fit for the list is and how much we should pay, and I also support during the publishing process. We work closely together on cover directions, copywriting, publishing plans – really I’m here for anything and while I always want editors to be independent and dive their own books, which they completely do, I also see myself as the person who is here to provide them with the toolkit to do their very best publishing. I help them with their development, am here as a sounding board, to offer advice or help troubleshoot a problem, and help push our publishing so it feels as market leading as possible. I never take this part of my role for granted – I feel very lucky to be trusted to lead the team in this way.

Thank you so much, Christina, for such an honest and insightful interview. Your authors and team are lucky to have you!

I hope you all found this an interesting read, and if you’re writing in the space she commissions, do check Christina out!

Happy writing, reading, holidaying - whatever you’re up to, and thank you for being here at The Honest Editor. You can subscribe to make sure you never miss an issue, and I’m eternally grateful to those who take the time to drop me a line with ideas for what you’d like to see here, feedback on what’s working or not working for you, and to tell me you’ve shared with someone else. THANK YOU!

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Phoebe x