HarperCollins Lures International Bestselling Author Wilbur Smith Away From Macmillan

Posted on December 5, 2012

HarperCollins pulled off a nice deal, luring internationally bestselling thriller author Wilbur Smith away from Macmillan, his publisher for the last 45 years. South African novelist Smith, who divides his time between London and Cape Town, has sold more than 122 million books around the world. He has 33 bestsellers in print. His debut thriller was When the Lion Feeds. Other popular titles include The Sunbird and Elephant Song. His latest book is Those in Peril.

HarperCollins isn't wasting any time. It will publish the sequel to River God in December, 2014. River God has sold 4 million copies worldwide. The sequel's release will mark Smith's 50 years as a bestselling author, which is a pretty amazing record. Smith was born in 1933 and shows no sign of slowing down.

Smith said, "I've been associated with Macmillan for over 45 years. I�d like to thank them for their continued commitment to my backlist and I look forward to continuing to work with them as they publish my next novel, Vicious Circle in 2013. For the past few years my fans have made it very clear that they would like to read my novels and revisit my family of characters faster than I can write them. For them, I am willing to make a change to my working methods so the stories in my head can reach the page more frequently. It's exciting to think that the dynamic team at HarperCollins will enable my fans to enjoy the gems from my story vault for many years to come."

Smith's works are better known around the world than they are in the U.S., but that may change with HarperCollins getting behind Smith and his brand. You can read more about Smith at his website. In this video, Smith talks about his thriller Those in Peril, which he wrote because of his disgust with the outbreak of piracy in modern times. Take a look: