About us

Find out who we are and what we can do for you.

What we can do for you…

Collier International specialises in international rights and co-editions, matching publishers in one country up with publishers in another, and negotiating deals and contracts across a wide range of subjects and titles.

The services we offer include:

negotiating and finalising deals on publishers’ behalf.

We handle the whole process, working within parameters agreed with the publisher.

handling contract negotiations.

We have wide experience in this field, using the publisher’s contract, or a contract based on our own template if preferred.

providing the expertise to help publishers find publishing partners in other countries.

It could be UK publishers looking to find a US publisher for a cookbook, or a German publisher looking to find a UK reference publisher, or a US publisher looking for sales in the UK and Europe. Collier International provides the contacts and market knowledge and experience to make such deals happen.

focusing on books we believe we can sell.

Some books have good potential, others do not. We can advise at an early stage what you need to do to maximize your opportunities.

helping publishers plan ahead.

Rights deals on illustrated books don’t just happen. Translation and print costs can make deals on the best books impossible. Plan your deals from an early stage, as much as a year ahead of publication.

keeping in close contact with publishers and agents around the globe.

Meeting at book fairs, keeping in touch by e-mail, phone and sales trips, and thereby maximizing opportunities.

understanding the market.

What works and doesn’t work in a specific country.

understanding what the deal parameters are in the countries we sell into.

Always making certain that while we’re seeking the best deals for clients we are also offering terms local publishers are likely to accept.

Rights

Sometimes publishers buy the rights and print themselves. They pay a royalty, and an advance on that royalty. This keeps it simple, but for illustrated books printing for just one country can be expensive.

Co-editions

In other cases publishers from round the world join a co-edition. Co-edition print runs can be difficult to co-ordinate but there are big benefits if you get it right.

Who we are…

Christopher Collier has over thirty years experience in book publishing, as a commissioning editor at Penguin, in book clubs (editor-in-chief at Book Club Associates), MD of his own company, Garamond, publishing director, consultant, and international sales director. Before setting up Collier International in 2004 he was sales and marketing director at the publishers and packagers, Andromeda, specializing in international rights and co-editions. He brings not just contacts and a knowledge of markets worldwide but a broad understanding of publishing at all levels not least in the areas of contract negotiation and new product development.

Manuela Kerkhoff studied languages, and has worked in publishing since 1995, with experience on both the editorial side (freelance editor for several German publishers) and the international sales side (foreign rights). Before setting up her own agency, International Book Marketing, in 2004, she was international sales manager at Gräfe und Unzer (Germany) for five years. Manuela is based in Germany and specialises in selling rights and co-editions of illustrated books across a broad range of subjects to the German, Scandinavian and Spanish & Portuguese language markets.