Bestselling author, editor, commissioning editor, packager and publishing consultant. Will work for biscuits.
During my tenure as Commissioning Editor at Portico – an imprint I helped create – I published more than 100 books, several of which sold very well and established the imprint as a fresh, funny and forthright home for authors. Examples of commissions include my proudest acheivement in publishing – creating and publishing The Very Embarrassing Book of Dad Jokes (more than 100,000 books sold!) , Feet of the Chameleon (Sports Book of the Year, 2009), Shit London, Can't Be Arsed, Roadie (with Coldplay), the award-winning The History of the NME; the Cool Series, including Cool Science (more than 70,000 copies sold), Cool Mythology, Cool Astronomy, Cool Maths, 365 Reasons to Be Cheerful, London's Strangest Tales, and many, many more!
As Editorial Director at Château de Pommard, it was my sole responsibility to devise, create, develop and maintain all visual and written content for the brand, across all media – including web, blog, social, print and on site. This included being part of the core team to rebrand the Château, its website, its global presence and all marketing content, as well as design and write all taglines, brand IDs and written content for marketing and on-site promotional materials. I also took lovely photos and drone videos and made nifty little videos for social channels.
After a decade of working for other people, I decided to go it alone and become a gun-for-hire. I have since worked effectively non-stop as an editor, author and consultant for a wide-range of publishers.
For two years I cut my teeth as a desk editor. Tasks included copy-editing, proof-reading, project managing and overseeing the development of all books on the list, approximately 25 a year. Basically, I pushed the books along the production line, from brand new ideas right through to collecting books hot off the press, complete with that new book smell.
Paramount Licensing Ltd., Foreword by Elton John
In May 2019, audiences are invited to discover the fantastical story of Sir Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music, to a global superstar, through his influential and enduring partnership with his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin. Rocketman, an epic musical fantasy from Paramount Pictures, Marv Studios and Rocket Pictures, stars Taron Egerton who pla... read more
Glastonbury is a festival like no other, and this visual history follows the world-renowned gathering on its 50th anniversary—complete with photographs, line-ups, and firsthand accounts. From its humble beginnings as a folk festival (where £1 got you a ticket and a pint of milk), Glastonbury has grown into one of today’s biggest global music events. Hundreds of the world’s most famous acts hav... read more
Wallace Fairfax
More than 30 years ago Marty Di Bergi (played by director Rob Reiner) could not have known that as he introduced his “rockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap, he was creating a work of genius that would rock on for decades. Consistently cited as one of the funniest movies ever made (and often spoken about by rock stars as one of the most frightening movies they've ever seen), This Is Spinal Tap has a... read more
Take a world tour through 200 countries with this brand new edition of the bestselling kids' version of Lonely Planet's popular The Travel Book, loaded with thousands of amazing facts on wildlife, how people live, sports, hideous and mouthwatering food, festivals and a wide range of other quirky insights on every page. Every single country gets its own dedicated page, and a mix of photography ... read more
Debs Wild, Malcom Croft
Coldplay’s unique sound has captured the hearts of the world time and time again. From melancholic, thoughtful melodies to energetic thumping bass lines, Coldplay’s musical range is a large part of their popularity, allowing them to appeal to all manner of fans, from young to old. Written by Debs Wild, the A&R executive who discovered Coldplay, and former music journalist Malcolm Croft, who ha... read more
Why did the banana go to the doctors?Because he wasn't peeling very well!Proving the age-old maxim that ‘it’s in the way that you tell them’, Dads – for the best part of forever – have always been renowned for being truly god-awful joke tellers. Whether it’s telling them at the wrong moment, misremembering the punchline or it just simply being one of those jokes that were terrible to begin wit... read more
Inside this mega-jam-packed book are fifty fact-tastic ways to advance and improve your astronomy skills so you’ll never feel alone in the universe again!Learn amazing space-related tricks such as how to watch a solar eclipse safely and mapping stars from your own back garden, right down to expertly simplifying the supermassive numbers and distances involved in the space between space so you’l... read more
Malcolm Croft
This fun book, part of the popular Cool series, is a fascinating introduction to world mythology, broken up into handy bite-sized chunks. It covers all the main world mythologies, including Sumerian, Incan, African, Native American, African, Egyptian, Persian, Hindu, Norse and, of course, Greek and Roman, including the famous Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and others). It begins with a select... read more
Croft, Malcolm
Croft, Malcolm
Sue Draheim, November 2022
Richard ashdown, June 2022
Martin Featherston, January 2022
Reply from Malcolm Croft
Chris Lovett, July 2021
Chris Bassett, April 2021
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Book editor and proofreader with experience in non-fiction: arts and culture, current affairs, travel guides and general history.
United Kingdom
Freelance editor with a passion for young adult and middle grade literature.
Boise, Idaho, USA