Penguin Random House UK authors and colleagues make the Evening Standard Progress 1000

We are delighted that a number of our authors and staff members are named in the 2017 Evening Standard Progress 1000, which aims to chart London's most influential people. To make the list each person's work will have impacted the city over the last year, with categories ranging from comedy to City Hall and cricket. According to the paper, these individuals represent 'the changing face of London: diverse, adaptable, socially inclusive and progressive.'

Penguin Random House UK authors included:

Zadie Smith

Born in north-west London in 1975, Zadie Smith’s first novel White Teeth won a number of literary awards including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book award. Her most recent novel, Swing Time, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017, alongside fellow Hamish Hamilton authors Ali Smith, Mohsin Hamid and Arundhati Roy.

Paula Hawkins

Transworld author Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before publishing her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, which has sold almost 20 million copies worldwide. Published in over forty languages, it has been a No.1 bestseller around the world. Her follow-up novel Into the Water was published earlier this year and went on to be a Sunday Times No.1 Bestseller.

John le Carré

One of the greatest spy novelists of our times, John le Carré has penned some of the most famous novels in the genre, including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Born in 1931, le Carré is still writing at the age of 85. His newest novel, A Legacy of Spies, is the first novel in over 25 years to feature George Smiley, his most beloved character.

Shappi Khorsandi

Shappi Khorsandi is one of the country's finest comedians, having launched herself back in 2006 with her sell out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker. She is the author of the bestselling childhood memoir, A Beginner's Guide To Acting English, which tells the story of how her family were forced to flee Iran and gain asylum in the UK. Nina is Not OK  is her highly-acclaimed first novel, published by Ebury.

Nadiya Hussain

Nearly 15 million viewers tuned in to see Nadiya win 2015's Great British Bake Off, and she has gone on to capture the heart of the nation. A columnist for The Times, Nadiya is also a regular reporter for The One Show, a guest panelist on Loose Women. Her first book Nadiya’s Kitchen was published in 2016, and in July of this year she published Nadiya’s British Food Adventure.

The list also features Penguin Random House CEO Tom Weldon; Venetia Butterfield, Publishing Director at Viking; Rachel Cugnoni, Publishing Director at Vintage; and Baronness Gail Rebuck DBE. Congratulations to all of our authors and colleagues featured on the list.

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