ABOUT
CHEERIO Publishing is an eclectic, independent publishing imprint and production company launched in 2020 in association with The Estate of Francis Bacon.
We commission innovative books and films that confound received ideas and open the door to new perceptions. We aim to bring unusual books to a mainstream audience. In the spirit of Francis Bacon’s work, we are here to intrigue, disturb and thrill.
Our name, CHEERIO, is a nod to Bacon’s favourite drinking toast and our logo takes inspiration from Bacon's art; the lightbulb, a recurring motif in his paintings, is one of the few objects that is never distorted in his work.
CLARE CONVILLE
Clare Conville worked as a publisher at Random House and then joined AP Watt as a literary agent before co-founding the literary agency C&W in 2000. C&W became part of the Curtis Brown Group in 2012. She is, in addition, one of the directors and curators of the CURIOUS ARTS FESTIVAL, and the co-author of DANGEROUS WOMEN: A GUIDE TO MODERN LIFE published in 2012. Between them, her authors have won or been shortlisted for nearly every literary prize in the UK, including the Booker Prize. Along with Harriet Vyner, Clare is joint director of CHEERIO.
HARRIET VYNER
Harriet Vyner’s first book GROOVY BOB, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROBERT FRASER, was republished by Heni publications in 2018. She is the author of AMONG RUINS, the co-author of Jools Holland's autobiography, BARE-FACED LIES AND BOOGIE-WOOGIE BOASTS and co-curator of the exhibition A STRONG SWEET SMELL OF INCENCE; A PORTRAIT OF ROBERT FRASER at PACE LONDON, 2015. She has recently been working on FIRST IMPRESSIONS, a series of filmed interviews, for The Estate of Francis Bacon. Along with Clare Conville, Harriet is joint director of CHEERIO.
DARREN BIABOWE BARNES
Having previously worked as an intern at Pan Macmillan, HarperCollins and Mira Trenchard Literary Scouting, and currently as a literary assistant at Conville & Walsh, Darren Biabowe Barnes joined the CHEERIO team as a freelance reader/administrator in 2019.
His literary interests are broad, but can be described generally as explorative, ambitiously told fiction and non-fiction in a range of genres. Particular favourites include Tsitsi Dangarembga, Rachel Cusk, Richard Brautigan, James Baldwin and Richard Wright, as well as Bruce Chatwin, Tom Burgis, Peter Ackroyd and Naomi Klein.
Darren is particularly keen to read manuscripts by writers underrepresented on the lists of many mainstream publishers.
MARTHA SPRACKLAND
Since 2016 Martha has led Offord Road Books, a boutique publisher of books and pamphlets which in the short time since it was founded have won or been shortlisted for accolades including the Ledbury Forte Award, PBS Recommendations, the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Laurel Prize and the T. S. Eliot Prize.
Previously assistant poetry editor for Faber & Faber, Martha has also worked in-house as acting poetry editor for long-running journal Poetry London and as an editor for Unbound, and has been a freelance editor for major publishers for the past decade.
martha@cheeriopublishing.com
FRANCIS BACON
Francis Bacon (1909-92) is widely regarded as Britain’s greatest modern painter. Drawing on low-art sources, including photographs torn from magazines and imagery from films, coupled with a keen awareness of the rich historical tradition of painting stretching back to the Renaissance, Bacon developed a way of portraying the human body which was unique. His mastery of the medium of paint was recognised early. By 1946, the critic Kenneth Clark felt able to state simply: ‘Francis Bacon has genius.’
(Tate catalogue: Francis Bacon, published 2008)
© Arnold Newman The National Portrait Gallery Getty Images
Arnold Newman (1918-2006) was an acclaimed American photographer, noted for his ‘environmental portraits’ of artists and politicians. Newman took this photographic portrait in 1975, at Bacon’s Reece Mews studio. It was later included in the National Portrait Gallery’s 1979 exhibition of Newman’s work – ‘The Great British’.
MARK AND KEITH
London based designers Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson have over 20 years of experience working together in branding and design, with a strong focus on retail, media and culture. They are also the creative duo behind internationally recognised wallpaper and homewares brand, Mini Moderns. Having already jointly authored 6 books on graphic design, they launched their most recent book MID-CENTURY MODERN LIVING - THE MINI MODERNS GUIDE TO PATTERN + STYLE in March 2019. Mark and Keith have loved working collaboratively with the whole team to create the CHEERIO branding and website.
PROFILE BOOKS
Profile is a fearless independent publisher of inventive books, powerful voices and lively thought. We love to drive conversations, developing writers from all walks of life to create books that surprise, delight and endure on every subject from the dawn of the cosmos to the fate of future. Nimble and responsive to the world around us, we are a lifelong home for authors and a beacon of non-fiction publishing. Whether alone or in collaboration with inspiring partners, we bring pleasure and illumination to readers everywhere.
