Bloomsbury looks to TV to expand

LONDON - Bloomsbury is turning to the lucrative market of books that tie in with television series in its latest attempt to expand beyond Harry Potter, as the boy wizard nears his final adventure.

The publisher will focus on food initially, with forthcoming books by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the television chef who once cooked with placenta, and Heston Blumenthal, the innovative culinary brain behind the Fat Duck restaurant.

Chairman Nigel Newton said he had high hopes for the new genre. "One just has to look at the best-seller lists," he said. The group has hired a new editor, Richard Atkinson, who specialises in food and television tie-in titles. It will publish a book to accompany a David Dimbleby BBC series about British buildings that airs next spring.

The company unveiled interim profits of £4.22 million ($12 million), up 3 per cent on the previous year, on sales up 6.5 per cent at £37.7 million.

Bloomsbury has just one Harry Potter title left up its sleeve: the seventh and last instalment in the teenage wizard series is due out some time next year.

- INDEPENDENT