Amy Joyner

I’ve built my career on one question: how do you get the most value from the rights a publisher holds?

I started in commercial roles – international business development, then running 57 stores across the Midlands as an Area Manager at Aldi – before moving into publishing in 2003. At McGraw-Hill Education I handled rights sales, permissions and international sales outside EMEA, winning the company’s high achiever award every year. After a spell selling law titles at Oxford University Press, I joined Pearson Education.

At Pearson I spent almost eight years in rights, first managing licensing across Western Europe and the Americas, then as Head of Rights Sales, leading a team of 13 across Higher Education, Trade Professional and Schools. We met or beat target every year and doubled the number of rights sold in four years. I was also business lead on a new licensing system implementation, which delivered more automation and significant productivity gains.

In 2015 I joined Kogan Page. In my first year licensing revenue grew by 107%. As Head of Rights & Licensing I trebled rights income over three years, brought in more than 1,000 new licensing customers, launched a digital subscription platform and built an audiobooks division from scratch. Since 2020 I’ve been Rights and Licensing Director, based in Dubai. I own global licensing strategy – including AI licensing – across more than 5,000 partners, and I sit on the Senior Leadership Team.

Speaking at the Independent Publishers Guild Annual Spring Conference.

Outside my own role, I work to raise standards across the industry. I wrote the Independent Publishers Guild’s Getting the Most Out of Your Rights course, founded the PLS Rights Management Group, speak regularly for the IPG, the Publishers Association and PLS, and mentor people early in their careers.

What clients can expect

• Commercial focus. Every recommendation is judged on what it adds to revenue and profit.
• Rights and systems together. I understand how sales, rights workflows and technology fit together, and I’ve led implementations from business case to go-live.
• Big-publisher experience, independent-publisher pragmatism. I’ve worked in both, and I know what’s realistic with a small team.
• Discretion. I treat every client’s list, contracts and data in confidence.