Hachette Shooting for the Stars with Orbit

by Jim Milliot, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 5/31/2006

Hoping to duplicate the success enjoyed by its U.K. sister company in the science fiction and fantasy fields, Hachette Book Group USA will launch Orbit in 2007 under the direction of Tim Holman, publishing director of Little, Brown Book Group’s Orbit imprint. Orbit will become part of Little, Brown and plans call for a list of 40 titles within three years. “We want to have a significant program really fast,” said LB publisher Michael Pietsch.

Although Holman will move to New York, he will continue to direct Orbit’s U.K. program and head the expansion of the imprint into Australia. The directive to make Orbit an international brand, said Pietsch, came from Hachette Books CEO David Young. “Science fiction is one of the most widely read genres worldwide. We see a great opportunity internationally,” noted Pietsch. With its expansion into the U.S. and Australia, Orbit will “acquire rights for as large a territory as possible,” he said. Although he acknowledged that there is lots of competition in the field, the ultimate goal, Pietsch said, “is to build the number one science fiction imprint in the world.”