THE TEAM WORKING FOR YOU


Carol Biss  –  Managing Director
Having been in publishing all her life, both as an agent and an editor, Carol joined Book Guild Publishing in 1988 and has been MD for over fifteen years. She bought the company in 2004 and is totally committed to its continuing success.

Elaine Cree - Personal Assistant to Carol Biss
 

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION AND OFFICE MANAGEMENT

Katie Ellis  –  Publishing Assistant
After completing her degree in English Language and Literature at The University of Sheffield in 2004, Katie took her first job as a bookseller at a small independent book shop in Sheffield. She first entered the publishing industry as an editorial secretary at Penguin and later went on to work as a publishing assistant at the Ivy Press in Lewes. Katie handles publishing enquiries and is the first point of contact for authors and manuscript submissions.

Kate Hanbury - Publishing Assistant
Kate has been with Book Guild for over five years, both freelance and in-house. She deals with enquiries and submissions and also assists editorial and production with proofreading and copy-editing. She has a background organising residential journalism courses and as a PA for a London literary agency. 


EDITORIAL

Joanna Bentley  –  Managing Editor
Joanna has been with Book Guild for eleven years, guiding authors through manuscripts, and is the resident grammar expert. She has worked in general publishing at Sidgwick&Jackson, children’s educational at Wayland, and illustrated craft books at Aness publishing. As a freelance editor she has worked on fiction and non-fiction for clients, including Bloomsbury, Element and Hodder.

Jo manages a large team of freelance editors who are experts in their subject areas.


PRODUCTION

Janet Wrench  –  Production Director
Janet has worked with Book Guild for over fifteen years, honing her skills in producing beautiful books that stand the test of time. Before her time with Book Guild she worked as a Production Manager for a printer, as well as a variety of trade and academic publishers including Cambridge University Press, Academic Press and Unwin Hyman.

Janet manages an experienced team of freelance typesetters and proofreaders, and is always looking for the highest quality print for the best price. She manages a team of jacket designers.

Barry Prendergast - Designer and Print Administrator
Barry is responsible for all things graphic and print-based, as well as all production administration.

Jon Gregory –  Freelance Designer
Jon works on some of our jackets. He has over twelve years print-based design experience, including five years at the British Printing Industries Federation in London and more recently three years at Designate Design Agency in Brighton. Having worked in the Book Guild office for a year, Jon is now working for us on a freelance basis from Hong Kong and Australia.

Lyn Parr  –  Editorial and Production Co-ordinator
Lyn first worked for Book Guild seventeen years ago before leaving to have her family. She has a background in marketing and production. She qualified as an Editor in 2006 and re-joined Book Guild to project manage titles as they move through editorial and production.


PUBLICITY AND MARKETING

Laura Lockington  –  Head of Publicity
Laura started her career in TV and has had many years of arts based PR experience, on a national and international level. She is the author of two highly successful novels published by Random House, and co-writes plays for BBC Radio 4. Her third book, Cupboard Love, a non-fiction foodie memoir, was published by Book Guild in 2008 to rave reviews.

For Book Guild titles, Laura has secured publicity with Richard & Judy, Woman’s Hour, BBC2’s Working Lunch, The Times, The Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday amongst others: go to Press Coverage for more details.

Kerry Herbert  –  Head of Marketing
Kerry grew up in book publishing and has been employed in the business for at least fifteen years. Trained in all aspects of publishing at HarperCollins, including production, editorial and sales development, she went on to work in the marketing departments of academic publishers, Taylor & Francis and Wiley. As Marketing Manager of the Professional Psychology list at Routledge, Kerry developed an in-depth knowledge of direct marketing to the global books market and promoted her titles at both national and international conferences. She manages Book Guild’s marketing, emarketing and direct sales.

Jessica Haggerty - Marketing Executive
Jessica has worked in publishing for almost ten years, nearly four of which was spent in the Book Guild’s close-knit Publicity and Marketing team. After completing her degree in English Literature at The University of Bristol, she graduated into her first publishing job for Chambers/Harrap, and has also worked for Taylor and Francis in an editorial capacity. Jessica returns to the Book Guild following a four year gap in which she set up a successful catering business.

ACCOUNTING AND ROYALTIES

Murdoch Morrison  –  Company Accountant
Murdoch is responsible for handling author royalty statements, as well as all other financial aspects of Book Guild.


Please see Our Distributors for details of our SALES TEAM.



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