Connor Brown

Editorial Director, Viking Non-Fiction

I publish high-quality non-fiction across history, ideas and culture, and have worked with a broad range of prize-winning and bestselling authors. I am drawn to books written by the very person you’d trust on the subject – those whose depth of scholarly or experiential knowledge is matched only by their exceptional prose and visionary ideas.

My list of authors includes (history) Erin Goeres, Chris Gosden, Simon Jenkins, Tharik Hussain, Sinclair McKay, Simon Park, Penny Spikins, Lyuba Vinogradova, (ideas) Ben Ansell, Dana Carney, Horatio Clare, Russell Foster, Evan Friss, Arik Kershenbaum, Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt, Luke O’Neill, Mark Miodownik, Kate Murphy, Vaclav Smil, Devi Sridhar, Chris Summerfield, Leor Zmigrod, (culture) Richard Coles, the Estate of Spike Milligan, Paris Spies-Gans.

I have spent my career at Penguin Random House, mainly at Viking/Penguin, with a short spell at The Bodley Head. I was recognised as a Bookseller Rising Star in 2023 and I co-founded Common Ground, PRH UK’s colleague network focused on class and socioeconomic background.

Along the way, I have worked on books by authors such as (history) Antony Beevor, the British Army, Doris Kearns Goodwin, President Obama, Timothy Snyder, (ideas) Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson, Francis Fukuyama, A. C. Grayling, Chelsea Manning, Yanis Varoufakis, (culture) Nick Cave, Will Gompertz, the Estate of John le Carré. These authors have been #1 bestsellers in both the Sunday Times and New York Times lists, and have won major awards, such as the Nobel, Baillie Gifford, Pulitzer, Wolfson History and Royal Society Science Book prizes.

I find great fulfilment in the close and collaborative process of working with some of the world’s most esteemed writers and thinkers, striving together to craft outstanding books with lasting impact.