Alexandra Pringle, Hon FRSL (born 1953, London SW10), is a British publisher. A founding Director of Virago Press, she has been Editor-in-Chief of

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

since 2000.

Biography

Of Scottish descent and kinsmen of the Pringle baronets of Stichill, her father Alexander Pringle (1920–2010) was the youngest son of the Liberal MP,

William Pringle William Pringle may refer to: * William Pringle (cricketer) (1881-1966), South African cricketer * William Pringle (Liberal MP) (1874–1928), British Liberal Party politician, Member of Parliament for Penistone 1922–1924 * William Hende ...

. In 1953 at Edith Grove SW10, she attended Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), after which she embarked on her career in publishing at the British magazine '' Art Monthly'', before joining the women's publisher

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' (genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-āg ...

in 1978. She worked on Virago's Modern Classics series and in 1984 she became their Editorial Director until 1991, when she moved to

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

with the same job title. Between 1994 and 1999, she was a

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

for writers such as Amanda Foreman, Maggie O'Farrell and Ali Smith. Pringle joined Bloomsbury in 1999, as Head of Adult Publishing. Pringle is enthusiastic about authors and books but does not believe that paper has to be involved. At one point,

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

told his publishers that his books must only be on paper, to which Pringle commented in '' The Independent'' that authors should not tell their readers how they should read. Her authors at Bloomsbury include

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

, Elizabeth Gilbert,

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

, Celia Imrie, Jhumpa Lahiri, Colum McCann, Anne Michaels, Ann Patchett, George Saunders, Kamila Shamsie, Patti Smith, Kate Summerscale and

Barbara Trapido Barbara (Louise) Trapido (born 1941 as Barbara Schuddeboom), is a British novelist born in South Africa with German, Danish and Dutch ancestry. Born in Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital c ...

among others. In March 2018, Pringle handed over the day-to-day running of Bloomsbury's Adult Trade publishing division to Emma Hopkin, whilst remaining as Editor-in-Chief.

Awards

Pringle has been awarded Honorary doctorates of Letters (Hon DLitt) from Anglia Ruskin University (2009) and Warwick University (2014). She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

in 2017 and serves Patron of

Index on Censorship Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...

Private life

She lived in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London, after marrying John Hilton in 1984 (divorced 2000).www.countrylife.co.uk
/ref> She married secondly Richard Peter Stroud, a writer and film-maker, who serves as Chairman of the Chelsea Arts Club. They live on the Chelsea Embankment SW3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Alexandra 1953 births Living people English people of Scottish descent People from London Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People associated with the University of Warwick British publishers (people)

Biography

Awards

Private life

See also

References