Questions for: Becky Brown

What are the most interesting things you're seeing at the moment in the industry?

I saw someone fit a 600-page book in their Uniqlo shoulder bag! On a serious note, I have been evangelising for a long time for resources (both in publishing houses and agencies) to be channelled into backlist and reissues, and it's been interesting to see the businesses who've done this start to see exciting results - whether that's great sales, adaptations, options etc.

What do you think might be the next big thing?

I tend to leave trend prognostication to my colleagues in frontlist, as one of the quirks of my job is that my finger can afford to hover a few centimetres above the pulse. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if all the requests I'm getting for vintage heist novels turn into a wider literary trend for escapist, smart adventure fiction that doesn't take itself seriously.