Cheetham backs publishing start-up

The publisher, Quercus, will launch its first list in March 2006 and produce about 30 titles in its first year. UK and European sales will be handled by Faber, with distribution by Random House.
Cheetham will chair the company, which is projecting a £3m turnover next year. Co-founder and c.e.o. Mark Smith described the business as the biggest start-up in London this year. Smith is the majority shareholder; Cheetham invested in the company in May.
Its fiction list will include Quercus Crime, edited by New York bookseller and editor Otto Penzler. Authors will include Joyce Carol Oates, Andrew Klavan, Thomas Cook, Joe Gores and Peter Temple.
The non-fiction list will span history, science, language, natural history, biography and reference.
The company will work with sister imprint Quercus Editions, formerly known as Smith Davies Ltd, a contract publisher set up in 2004 by Smith and Wayne Davies. Previously Smith worked for Orion and Letts.
Christopher Potter, former publisher of Fourth Estate, will join the editorial board in a part-time capacity in March 2006.
Cheetham said: “Quercus is a young, committed, and energetic team with big ambitions. I hope I can make a contribution towards achieving those goals, and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.” The name is Latin for oak tree.