Sanah Ahmed has been promoted to editor at Orion Fiction as part of a series of promotions within the editorial team aimed at “strengthening the publisher’s commissioning performance” as it prepares for its “next phase of growth.”

Ahmed joined the team in 2021 and has worked with some of the biggest brand writers on the roster, including Veronica Henry, Lorraine Kelly, MJ Arlidge and Sophie Gravia. Most recently, Ahmed has worked on the following projects: Playmaker by Deanna Faison, Coffin case by Lauren Evans and Retreat for couples by Lorraine Brown. In her new role, she will continue to recruit new talent in the areas of book club, romance and cozy fantasy.

Meanwhile, Brendan Durkin has been promoted to editor at Gollancz, having previously overseen the publication of the literary estates of Sir Terry Pratchett and Frank Herbert and worked closely with some of the publisher’s leading authors, including Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie and Andrzej Sapkowski. Durkin has also spearheaded the launch of Gollancz’s direct publishing program, The Gollancz Emporium, which produces special editions. In 2025, Durkin will publish titles including Death of the author by Nnedi Okorafor and Someone like me from LD Lapinski.

At Seven Dials, George Brooker has been promoted to senior editor. Since joining the company in 2022, Brooker has worked for two commercial non-fiction publishers, Seven Dials and Trapeze. Following the acquisition of Sarah Beeny’s memoir The simple lifeand the support of key brand authors Dick and Angel Strawbridge, his list was expanded this year by the publication of Emily English’s So good. Brooker’s remit will continue to focus on food and drink, alongside memoirs, gifts and LGBTQ+ voices, and he will commission a select number of titles for Trapeze.

Anna Valentine, Orion’s managing director, said: “These promotions recognise the breadth of talent that exists across our editorial teams at Orion. Brendan, George and Sanah have all made tremendous contributions in their respective fields and are among the most exciting editorial talent in the industry.”