Basic Books in New York and John Murray Press in London are creating Basic Books UK, a new imprint of John Murray Press, that will work closely with its U.S. counterpart to publish nonfiction titles by "influential historians, scientists, mathematicians, economists, psychologists and other leading experts on both sides of the Atlantic." Basic and John Murray Press are part of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, respectively.
The first title from Basic UK will be The AI Disruption by Martin Ford, which will be published simultaneously in the U.S. and U.K. in Spring 2021. Following that Basic UK and Basic Books will publish A World Without Stars by Roberto Trotta and Scorched Earth by Paul Thomas Chamberlin.
Nick Davies, managing director of John Murray Press who is also publisher of Basic UK, commented: "It's a great honour to welcome Basic Books to the U.K. We've collaborated with the U.S. team for many years now, but this marks an exciting new chapter in our relationship. The Basic list is shot through with quality and gravitas--a tradition that we will be building on with a new generation of British and European talent. It presents a unique opportunity to build a serious nonfiction list with one of the most respected brands in American publishing, and the support of one of the most successful publishing divisions in the U.K."
Lara Heimert, publisher at Basic Books in New York, added: "I've long hoped to extend the Basic imprint into the United Kingdom, and I'm thrilled that we're able to achieve that goal in partnership with John Murray. This new partnership reflects my deep admiration for Nick's tremendous creativity, intelligence, and entrepreneurialism. I am excited to see Nick and his publishing team bring the quality of the Basic Books list to more readers in the U.K. and around the world. And I'm excited for the many new writers who Nick and his team will bring into Basic's orbit."