Quercus, the London-based publisher whose roster of international successes includes Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, is poised to launch a U.S. publishing operation and has established a New York office in preparation for its debut lists set for autumn 2013. In addition, the company signed with Random House Publisher Services for sales and distribution of print and digital titles in the U.S.

Founded in 2004 by two former Orion hands, Mark Smith and Wayne Davies, respectively now CEO and executive director – digital, Quercus publishes fiction, nonfiction and children's books across imprints that include MacLehose Press, Jo Fletcher Books and Heron Books. Last financial year, Quercus turned in operating profit of £5.9m on turnover of £24.8m, and analysts expect a similar result this year."

Its entry into the American market will be with a list of 40 titles reflecting the breadth of its U.K. catalogue - commercial and literary fiction, SF, fantasy, horror and children’s; nonfiction and gift books – with highlights including Roberto Costantini's international bestseller The Deliverance of Evil and Philip Ziegler's definitive biography of Laurence Olivier, plus Mikhail Shishkin's The Light and the Dark, Frank Schätzing's Limit, and Gregory Hughes’ highly acclaimed children’s book Unhooking the Moon.

“We’ve been planning this move into the U.S. for some time now and see great opportunities in this most vibrant of markets,” said Smith, who last year dipped a toe into the water with a successful co-publishing venture with Sterling. “This is a start-up operation and we plan to take things one step at a time to organically grow our offering and learn, alongside our partners RHPS, what we as a company can bring to such an exciting marketplace. Our team will focus on publishing commercial titles with broad appeal and giving each title and author the marketing, publicity and outreach support they will need to maximize their potential. .’’

Speaking for RHPS, Jeff Abraham, president, praised Quercus’ “dramatic growth and success” and “aggressive plans to expand into North America. The quality and breadth of their publishing program nicely complement those of our robust roster of clients.”