HarperCollins has released details about its long-gestating international imprint. Headed by HarperOne president and publisher Judith Curr, HarperVia will release its first three titles this September and will do another three next spring as it builds to publishing 24 books annually, Curr told PW. HarperVia will focus primarily on publishing fiction in translation with an “eye for books that celebrate the universal desire for discovery, understanding and connection through exceptional storytelling,” HC said.
Working with Curr on HarperVia are David Roth-Ey, executive publisher at HarperCollins UK, and James Kellow, CEO of HarperCollins Australia. HarperVia will look to acquire world English rights to the titles it buys. Each of the three HC offices will be acquiring books, and once a title has been approved for purchase by one of the offices, it will appear on the HarperVia list, Curr said, and other offices will publish the book after making modifications for their specific markets. The plan is for books to be released simultaneously in all English-language markets, but Curr acknowledged it may take some time to get to same day and date releases.
The HarperVia U.S. team includes Juan Milà, executive editor, whose responsibilities include acquiring titles and overseeing the translations of the editions, Tara Parsons, who is associate publisher, and editorial assistant Alice Min. In addition, Paul Olsewski will be joining HarperOne on March 18 from Atria (where he worked with Curr) as senior publicity director for HarperVia as well as for Amistad and HarperEspañol. Curr said she intends to build HarperVia into a recognized brand. “We’re building a new model for world English-language publishing, creating a platform where books can be discovered,” she said, adding that she sees HarperVia as “something like Netflix, telling stories from all over the world.”
The launch title for HarperVia is Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich, an American who lived in Naples for 10 years and wrote the book in Italian and did the English translation herself. It will be followed by It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo, currently set to be published in 22 countries, and The German House by Annette Hess. Other authors who have been signed by HarperVia include Norwegian author Maja Lunde, Eric Dupont of Canada, Amir Ahmadi Arian from Iran, and Korea’s Won-pyung Sohn.
Harper is holding a HarperVia launch party at the London Book Fair and will also be meeting “with our network of scouts to discuss new titles,” Curr said.
