Charlotte Mursell on working at Mills & Boon, the romantasy boom and spotting a bestseller

In this episode Rachel and Simon speak to Charlotte Mursell, publisher at Orion Fiction. Charlotte started her career at the romance publisher Mills & Boon and worked for several years within HarperCollins, including at HQ, its commercial-focused imprint. In 2020 Charlotte joined Orion Fiction; as publisher since 2025, she leads the commercial fiction team, oversees the imprint’s strategy and acquires titles across a wide range of genres. She has published books by authors including Joanne Harris, Veronica Henry and Santa Montefiore. Her titles have been recognised by major prizes, including the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and she has published multiple Richard & Judy and Reese Witherspoon book club picks. In 2019 Charlotte was named a Bookseller Rising Star and in 2025 she was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at the British Book Awards.