Alexandra Pringle, Hon FRSL (born 1953, London SW10), is a British publisher. A founding Director of

Virago Press Virago is a British publisher of women's writing and books on feminist topics. Started and run by women in the 1970s and bolstered by the success of the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM), Virago has been credited as one of several British femini ...

, she has been Editor-in-Chief of Bloomsbury Publishing since 2000.

Biography

Of Scottish descent and kinsmen of the Pringle baronets of Stichill, her father Alexander Pringle (1920–2010) was the youngest son of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP, William Pringle. In 1953 at Edith Grove SW10, she attended Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), after which she embarked on her career in publishing at the British magazine ''

Art Monthly ''Art Monthly'' is a magazine of contemporary art founded in 1976 by Jack Wendler and Peter Townsend. It is based in London and has an international scope, although its main focus is on British art. The magazine is published ten times a year (wi ...

'', before joining the women's publisher

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' ( genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-ā ...

in 1978. She worked on Virago's Modern Classics series and in 1984 she became their Editorial Director until 1991, when she moved to Hamish Hamilton with the same job title. Between 1994 and 1999, she was a literary agent for writers such as Amanda Foreman,

Maggie O'Farrell Maggie O'Farrell, RSL (born 27 May 1972), is a novelist from Northern Ireland. Her acclaimed first novel, '' After You'd Gone'', won the Betty Trask Award, and a later one, '' The Hand That First Held Mine'', the 2010 Costa Novel Award. She ha ...

and

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 ...

. Pringle joined Bloomsbury in 1999, as Head of Adult Publishing. Pringle is enthusiastic about authors and books but does not believe that paper has to be involved. At one point, Stephen King told his publishers that his books must only be on paper, to which Pringle commented in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' that authors should not tell their readers how they should read. Her authors at Bloomsbury include Margaret Atwood,

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, Sheila Hancock,

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and Barbara Trapido among others. In March 2018, Pringle handed over the day-to-day running of Bloomsbury's Adult Trade publishing division to Emma Hopkin, whilst remaining as Editor-in-Chief.

Awards

Pringle has been awarded

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s of

Letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

(Hon DLitt) from

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

(2009) and

Warwick University , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

(2014). She was elected an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017 and serves Patron of Index on Censorship.

Private life

She lived in Hampstead, London, after marrying John Hilton in 1984 (divorced 2000).www.countrylife.co.uk
/ref> She married secondly Richard Peter Stroud, a writer and film-maker, who serves as Chairman of the Chelsea Arts Club. They live on the Chelsea Embankment SW3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Alexandra 1953 births Living people English people of Scottish descent People from London Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People associated with the University of Warwick British publishers (people)

Biography

Awards

Private life

See also

References