Introducing: Catriona Fida
Meet our new literary assistant, Catriona Fida: Rights Guru, BookTok Fanatic, and National Trust Devotee.
How did you get into the publishing industry?
After graduating from university in 2020, I took up a position in the Higher Education Law department at Oxford University Press (OUP) as an assistant to the Commissioning Editor. During this time I also volunteered on the SYP UK committee as their Social Media Officer, which gave me an insight into trade publishing and introduced me to the wonderful world of selling rights! I worked at OUP for just shy of a year before moving to Pan Macmillan, where I became the Rights Assistant for their Adult imprints. To work on such a varied list was a great experience and my reading interests are broader because of it.
What are you most looking forward to about the job, and what do you like about working in foreign rights?
I’m most looking forward to collaborating with all of the wonderful authors the agency represents and playing my part in their books’ successes. My favourite thing about working in rights is seeing the deals come in and getting to communicate the good news to authors. It’s incredibly rewarding to be involved with a book from the acquisitions stage and witnessing its life cycle, from submission to publication and beyond.
What's one book you could read over and over, and one you've recently enjoyed?
A book I have (and will continue) to read over and over again is The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi. It’s a coming-of-age novel about a mixed-race boy of an Asian father and English mother growing up in 1970s London. I read The Buddha of Suburbia for a university course - and later my dissertation - but it was the first time I read a book in which I felt represented, so it holds a very special place in my heart.
Recently I read Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens which follows a teenage ghost who is in love with a married writer. Set in 1838 and full of Gothic atmosphere, the novel reminded me a lot of some of Sarah Waters’ books based in the Victorian era. I’d highly recommend it!
What made you decide to move to an agency from a publisher?
Having moved across departments from Editorial to Rights, one thing I missed was getting to work closely with authors and their manuscripts. Moving to an agency appealed to me because I would still be involved with rights sales and drawing up contracts, but knew I’d also get the opportunity to build close relationships with authors.
What do you like to do outside of work for fun?
In my spare time I love to sit in a coffee shop with a book and pastry in each hand. Otherwise, you’ll either find me in the gym or at some historic grounds, making good use of my National Trust membership.