Tor

Meet the team

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  Bella Pagan

  Publisher

  I love how speculative fiction can transport us to amazing new worlds, fire our imaginations and introduce us to amazing characters and authors. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to help writers bring these stories to life. When acquiring in this area, my tastes range from commercial to book group fiction, and I’m drawn to character-driven narratives with page-turning plots. I love mainstream fiction with a speculative twist, and am a big fan of lighter, cosy and quirky fantasy. Witches and mythological creatures are also welcome. In addition, I thoroughly enjoy romantasy, fairytale and historical retellings, and dark academia. And I grew up loving more traditional vividly-imagined fantasy and fast-paced science fiction. I’m keen to include diverse voices to enrich the Tor UK list, including multicultural, queer and neurodivergent perspectives.

  I’ve been running Tor since 2015 and here are some of my wonderful current and previous authors: Cassandra Clare, Olivie Blake, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Shelley Parker-Chan, Alix E. Harrow, T. L. Huchu. T. J. Klune, Freya Marske, John Scalzi and Rebecca Thorne. At the British Book Awards in 2023, I was shortlisted for ‘Editor of the Year,’ achieving a ‘Highly Commended’ in this category. In the same year, Tor UK was shortlisted for ‘Best Imprint’ for the second year running.  

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  Gillian Green

  Publisher

  My love of magical fiction all started with fairy tales – I had a whole collection of Ladybird books as a child, including some of the less well known like Snow White and Rose Red and The Magic Porridge Pot.  It’s probably no wonder that I began my publishing career as a romance editor, eventually working with some of the biggest names in US fiction - including Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb and acquiring the original Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn. These days my tastes are broader and darker but I do still love a happy ending.  I still love fairy tales and I was lucky enough to work on Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy as well as commissioning Ava Reid’s The Wolf and the Woodsman when I was running Del Rey at Penguin Random House. (I also worked with the brilliant genre-busting Andy Weir.)

  As co-publisher of Tor, my role is to grow the imprint and strategically expand our lists, particularly in the areas of romantasy, dark fantasy and cosy fantasy. I would also love to find more reading group speculative fiction for our list, as well as literary horror. (I love a ghost story…)

  Authors I currently work with include TikTok sensation Carissa Broadbent, Sarah Beth Durst and K.A. Linde on Tor, as well as Karen Swan, John Marrs and Juan Gómez-Jurado on Pan.

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  Sophie Robinson

  Editorial Director

  I am a huge SFF and horror fan, the latter of which I'm looking to commission more of for Tor UK. I love atmospheric hauntings and possessions of any kind - real, metaphorical, gothic, gruesome; nightmarish retellings and folklore (especially those outside the Western canon); the light-touch supernatural as well as dread-inducing psychological horror. I'd love to see books comparable to A Head Full of Ghosts, The Historian, Last House on Needless Street, NOS4A2 and Come with Me. 

  For fantasy, I love retellings, romantasy, magical dark academia, books about books, courtly politics, witches and, of course, vampires. I'd love to see anything similar to Babel, Wendy, Darling and Ninth House. My science fiction tastes lean more towards the literary side of the genre with a clear, concise pitch, such as The Shining Girls, Station 11 or The Power.

  But ultimately, there's nothing better than a propulsive plot, an original concept and rich characters that I will follow to the ends of the earth!

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  Michael Beale

  Editor

  I joined Tor from Titan Books, where I was lucky to work alongside exceptional SFF editors and authors, including Rachel Harrison, Judy Lin, and Oliver Langmead. I’m drawn to daring, witty dialogue that's true to character, and I can’t resist a narrative voice that commands attention from the first sentence. Put these together in a world that feels alive, then I’m probably reading a new favourite book, particularly if that story foregrounds diverse voices.

  In science fiction, space operas with big ideas and bigger characters will always appeal, but I also love SF which inhabits the quieter corners of the universe. In fantasy, I’m drawn to tales that delve into the grimdark, such as Worrad's The Keep Within, and I have a soft spot for historic settings, mythology, and nautical adventures. I’d love to see more like Ninth House, The Spear Cuts Through Water or The Bone Ships. Lastly, I adore outlandish speculative fiction that turns my mind inside out. Leech is a recent favourite. Mushrooms, parasites, and eldritch horrors are all welcome in this brain.

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  Grace Barber

  Editorial Assistant

  I work closely with Tor's Publisher, Gillian Green, and Editorial Director, Sophie Robinson, across Tor's list. I've had the pleasure of working with some of our biggest brand authors, including Jennifer L. Armentrout, Travis Baldree, Olivie Blake, Carissa Broadbent, Cassandra Clare, TJ Klune, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. 

  My favorite books typically involve tightly-woven plots, vibrant world-building, and a diverse cast of characters whom I can't help but root for (even when they are morally grey!) right up to the very last page. I love speculative fiction with an LGBTQ+ focus and I am always excited when authors explore romantic tropes. Above all, a book must transport me - whether it's to a magical realm, a spaceship, or a fantasy court – and ultimately make me forget that there is an outside world to return to.