BookBrunch reports that Quercus founder Christopher MacLehose and his colleagues were smiling last night at the Folio Prize ceremony, despite the fact that their man, Sergio da la Pava, did not carry off the award. On the other big issue of the day - who will be buying Quercus? - he would not of course be drawn.
Though the smart money is probably on Orion - co-founders Mark Smith and Wayne Davies are both Orion alumnae - two other rumors were circulating during the evening. The first, that Quercus would find a home with Head of Zeus. That would surely be difficult, for Smith and Anthony Cheetham parted company acrimoniously.
The second rumor was a good deal more intriguing: in this scenario the buyer is Amazon Publishing. Not so unlikely when you think about it, for Quercus' genre fiction would fit well with Amazon, and booksellers would find it all but impossible not to stock all those well-established authors.
In January, Quercus acknowledged it is looking for a buyer; the U.K.-based publisher recently opened a U.S. division.
A version of this story originally appeared in the London-based trade publication, BookBrunch.co.uk.
