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Clive Priddle to Depart as Publisher of PublicAffairs

Clive Priddle is set to depart from his role as publisher of PublicAffairs on September 13, marking the end of a significant 21-year tenure at the prominent nonfiction imprint. Following his exit, the search for his successor will commence next month.

Priddle joined the ranks of PublicAffairs in 2003 as executive editor, stepping into the position after Paul Golob. He advanced to the role of editorial director in 2006 and was named publisher in 2012. Throughout his career at PublicAffairs, he played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of numerous distinguished authors, including Nobel laureates Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, as well as other notable figures such as Richard Haass, John Kerry, and Muhammad Yunus. In addition to his work at PublicAffairs, Priddle also oversees Bold Type Books, an imprint that results from a collaboration between Hachette Book Group and the nonprofit journalism organization Type Media Center.

Founded in 1997 by Peter Osnos, PublicAffairs became an integral part of the Hachette Book Group in 2016, following HBG’s acquisition of Perseus Books Group. It currently operates as part of the Basic Books Group.

Lara Heimert, Senior Vice President and publisher of Basic Books Group, praised Priddle’s contributions, stating, “During his extensive career at PublicAffairs, Clive has expanded the imprint in a more global direction. Originally focused on Washington and American politics, the imprint has under his stewardship published vital works addressing issues across various regions, from Russia to Indonesia and China to Sudan.”

Heimert highlighted several of Priddle’s notable successes, including Jason Stearns’ Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, which explores conflict in the Congo, and Victor Bevins’ The Jakarta Method, which scrutinizes the CIA’s covert operations to eliminate activists in Indonesia and beyond. She also noted Priddle’s achievements in economics, featuring influential titles like Poor Economics and Good Economics for Hard Times, both authored by Banerjee and Duflo. Under his leadership, Bold Type Books published the acclaimed bestseller Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram Kendi, which won the National Book Award.

Before his tenure at PublicAffairs, Priddle directed publishing at the U.K.-based Fourth Estate Books, a subsidiary of HarperCollins, where he was instrumental in establishing the publisher’s imprint in the United States. His time there saw him acquire works from prominent authors such as Geraldine Brooks, Laura Hillenbrand, and Sebastian Junger. Earlier in his career, Priddle spent four years at Penguin UK, further solidifying his reputation in the literary world.

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