About us
Durnell Marketing was founded in 1984 by Andrew Durnell. Over the years he grew the company and developed a strong client base before retiring in 2018. James Dunphy, Timur Sayfullin and Thibault Appell took the reins in 2018, and since then the company has focused on modernising and adapting to fit the needs of an ever-changing industry in the 21st century, while upholding the high standards and principles upon which the company was founded.
Meet the team below!
Our People
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Timur Sayfullin
Business Development Director
Timur joined Durnell Marketing in 2011 as Territory Manager responsible for driving sales throughout Central and Eastern Europe, a key role he still holds alongside his new position as Business Development Director.
Before joining the publishing industry, Timur worked in the retail division of a bank. He graduated with an MSc in International Business Management from Bournemouth University , and a BA degree in Finance from Ufa State Aviation Technical University.
Timur speaks fluent English, Russian and German.
Timur is an outdoor action man - his favourite activities range from trail running and open water swimming, surfing down German rivers and kite surfing – and when occasionally indoors, loves reading. His best book ever read – Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.
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Thibault Appell
Commercial Director
Thibault joined Durnell Marketing in January 2016 after finishing City University’s International Publishing MA. Before that, he was a bookseller in France while studying French, US and British Literature, Arts and Civilisations. He crossed the channel in 2011 to work in several great places -the French Bookshop, Waterstones, and Foyles- and settled down as European sales agent after gaining experience at HarperCollins, Hodder and Hachette.
Taking care of France, Switzerland, and a fair share of the Nordic and Balkan countries, he also manages systems development, data insight and finance supervision.
Thibault speaks French and English, and when not at work likes to read, cook, travel and see, watch and listen to art in all its shapes. His favourite book is Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s Terre des Hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars) on par with any of John Eisner or Joe Sacco’s works.
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James Dunphy
Director of Operations
James joined Durnell Marketing in 2015 as a European Sales Representative, fresh after finishing an undergraduate degree in French and Spanish Translation and Interpreting from the University of Portsmouth.
In 2018, after a career break which involved volunteering in Bangladesh, travelling across South America, and working in the Swiss Alps, James took on the role of Director of Operations, being the main contact point at the office for most of our client publishers, as well as taking over the responsibility of HR and staff management.
When he’s not in the office, he’s usually found on a squash court, bouldering or rock climbing with friends, or nerding out reading books about etymology and quirky foreign languages.
He speaks fluent French, Spanish and English.
James’ favourite book of all time: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
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Sarah Henderson
Sales Support
Sarah first entered the world of books at Heffers university bookstore in Cambridge before moving into a commissioning editorial role at various publishers including Thomson/Cengage in London. She moved across to join European Sales at Durnell Marketing back in 2004, ever since then she has been promoting books and getting them safely into the hands of booksellers all over Western Europe.
Sarah has a BA Hons in French and German from Leeds University. Her interests are travel, reading, music quizzing, and skiing.
A fan of the old classics, her favourite book is The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
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Iva Mikulikova
Sales Support
Iva joined Durnell Marketing in 2004, supporting the Territory Manager in Central and Eastern Europe, dealing with day to day enquiries, orders and promotions.
Before joining Durnell Marketing Iva worked in the Electronics and Aluminium Industry looking after a set client base in Europe.
She studied Hotel Management for 3 years before moving to the UK to improve her English.
Iva speaks fluent Czech, German and English.
Apart from being a keen cyclist and swimmer and traveller she is also part of a book group and her favourite title is: Into the darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes.
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Julia Knowles
Office Manager
Julia joined Durnell Marketing in 2000 and lives up to her nickname ‘Biz’ in keeping the office running smoothly for the whole team. Alongside her role as Office Manager organising key events such as bookfair attendance and sales conferences, Julia promotes books and provides essential sales support to a number of Western European territories.
Before entering the publishing industry, Julia worked for Tate and Lyle in London. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren in Canada and UK, as well as travelling with her husband in their campervan around Europe where they are close to completing their first challenge: to visit every département in France.
Currently reading The Volunteer - The True story of the Resistance Hero who infiltrated Auschwitz.
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Alberto Greco
Trade Sales & Marketing Executive
Alberto became part of the Durnell team in 2019, taking on the role of European Sales & Marketing Representative. As well as creating valuable content for the agency’s marketing campaigns, he takes care of sales in selected territories including Italy.
Before joining the team, Alberto interned at Penguin Press UK and worked at the Turin Book Fair in Italy. A graduate in philosophy, he has also recently completed a master’s degree in International Publishing at City University, London.
Alberto loves the noise and bustle of train stations and swimming pools, the darkness of the cinema auditorium and the taste of a good read. Herta Müller and Cesare Pavese are his favourite authors.
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Dr Alice Sanders
Academic Sales & Marketing Executive
Alice joined Durnell Marketing in 2020 in the newly-created role of Academic Sales & Marketing Executive. As well as producing content for a range of marketing campaigns and running Durnell's new Twitter account, she is also responsible for generating textbooks adoptions.
Before joining the team, Alice spent two years as a Marketing Assistant at Manchester University Press, working across a broad range of academic subjects. She also holds a PhD in art history and performance studies from the University of Bristol.
In her spare time, Alice enjoys hiking in the South Downs, visiting art galleries, cooking, yoga, interior design, and - of course - reading. Her all-time favourite novel is Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life. Her favourite biography is Georges Perec: A Life in Words by David Bellos and her favourite academic book is T. J. Clark's The Sight of Death: An Experiment in Art Writing.
