Meet the new member of the Mushens Entertainment team, Alba Arnau Prado, who will be covering for Liza DeBlock as Rights Manager during her maternity leave!

Alba joins us from Sheil Land where she was head of the foreign rights department. She graduated from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain with an English and American Literature and Culture degree and moved to London to complete an MA in Publishing at UCL. While completing her dissertation, she interned at RCW and then worked in a Bookshop. Alba joined the foreign rights department at Sheil Land in 2016 and was promoted to Head of Department at the start of 2022.

Please introduce yourself!

My name is Alba Arnau Prado, I come from a town near Barcelona called Rubi. I love science fiction, fantasy and horror but also romance and non-fiction. I really enjoy any kind of crossover novels or weird fiction. 

How did you get into the publishing industry?

I did an MA in Publishing at UCL, where I got an internship at RCW. Before then, agencies were an unknown to me and of course, I loved the work. While I was writing my dissertation, I got a job at a bookshop, which I loved.

What are you most looking forward to about the job, and what do you like about working in foreign rights?

I'm really looking forward to meeting the ME authors and their works. So many great books to read! Regarding working in foreign rights, I love meeting foreign editors and getting to know their lists - it's the best feeling when you find a book you can work on together!

What's one book you could read over and over, and one you've recently enjoyed?

The book I could read over and over (and in fact, I do) is The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Court intrigue at its best, with the most lovable main character. A book I've recently enjoyed is Tower by Bae Myung-hoon - a novel that is a collection of interconnected short stories set in a formidable tower, big enough to fit a nation.

What do you like to do outside of work for fun?

I love going to the cinema and to the theatre (I'm a big fan of musicals). My ideal afternoon is going to a bookshop and then to a coffee shop with my friends!