Who We Are

Rebecca Gray, Managing Director
[email protected]

Souvenir: personality-driven, practical books; non-judgemental and supportive
advice; books about home, food or skills; hilarious or fresh takes on how we live. Profile:
social and cultural history on unexpected subjects. Serpent’s Tail: complex morality, a fast
pace or an immediate voice. Authors include Karen Joy Fowler, Annie Gray, Attica Locke,
Carmen Maria Machado, Lucy Mangan, Emily Oster.

Andrew Franklin, Founder Director
[email protected]

Serious non-fiction for general readers, particularly books by academic historians and
economists. My authors include Mary Beard, Francis Fukuyama, Atul Gawande, Margaret
Macmillan, Raja Shehadeh, Susie Orbach and Linda Colley.

Rowan Cope, Publisher
[email protected]

I oversee the brilliant Profile Books editorial team, and for the moment lead on the
publishing and acquiring for Serpent’s Tail. I acquire a number of titles across our lists,
with an emphasis on accessible, expert-led non-fiction (humanities, culture , big ideas
and popular science), memoir and captivating, voice-led fiction. I am excited to publish
We Know You Can Pay a Million, an exploration of cyberhacking; Moveable Feasts, a
delectable book about Paris; and Intelligence, a novel by comedian and writer Robert
Newman.

Profile 

Jenny Dean, Acting Publishing Director (maternity cover)
[email protected]

In Cecily Gayford’s stead, I look after the Profile imprint and her fantastic list of intelligent,
compelling non-fiction, which covers social and cultural history, memoir and narrative
non-fiction. Having started my career in publishing at Viking, I worked in brand strategy
for a decade before returning to books in 2022. Since my return, I’ve published non-fiction
bestsellers including Rory Stewart’s Politics on the Edge, Tim Spector’s Food for Life and
Benji Waterhouse’s You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here.

Cecily Gayford, Publishing Director
**on maternity leave from October 2024**

I’m looking for intelligent, compelling, authoritative non-fiction, especially social and
cultural history, memoir and narrative on topics from politics to literature, art and food.
Very interested in rising-star academics and authors who can tell a personal story that
illuminates a wider theme. My books include: The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell,
All That Glitters by Orlando Whitfield, Eleanor Barraclough’s Embers of the Hands, and
Sunday Times bestsellers Eat Up! by Ruby Tandoh and Recovery by Gavin Francis.

Louisa Dunnigan, Head of Audio and Editorial Director (Profile)
[email protected]

Compelling non-fiction with a purpose and clear voice backed by expertise. A strong
focus on books with a business angle: narrative or practical, looking at people, behaviour
and big ideas. Keen on current affairs, reportage and psychology. I publish Ryan Holiday’s
million-copy-selling titles, including The Daily Stoic; Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain;
and the award-winning No Bullsh*t Leadership. Other authors include Bernie
Sanders, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, campaigning barrister Christian Weaver and
journalist Vicky Spratt.

Izzy Everington, Editorial Director
[email protected]

Serious non-fiction with a flair for popular science, and a keen interest in social sciences –
anthropology, politics, psychology – as well as philosophy and history. I enjoy working with
academics and experts, turning complicated concepts and research into fascinating and
accessible books. Authors include award-winning biochemist Nick Lane, mathematician
Eugenia Cheng, world-leading bog ecologist Merritt Turetsky and epidemiologist Adam
Kucharski. I also oversee the Wellcome list, publishing Emma Dabiri’s Disobedient Bodies,
Dr Helen King’s Immaculate Forms and Daniel Tammet’s Nine Minds.

Nick Humphrey, Editorial Director
[email protected]

Agenda-setting non-fiction, with a particular interest in history, biography and current
affairs. Recent titles include Oliver Bullough’s bestselling Butler to the World, Adam
Sisman’s The Secret Life of John le Carré, Andrew Ziminski’s Church Going and Dan
Davies’s FT Business Book Award-nominated The Unaccountability Machine. Recent
acquisitions include Sparta by Andrew Bayliss and Children of Abraham: The Story of
Muslim–Jewish Relations by Marc David Baer.

Mark Ellingham, Associate Publisher
[email protected]

Non-fiction for Profile/Serpent’s Tail: environment/climate change (Mike Berners-Lee, Chris
Goodall, Tony Juniper), nature, popular science, popular culture/music, and some quirkier
titles (Just My Type; Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles; Water Ways; Lingo). I am
also joint publisher of Sort Of Books, which publishes 2–5 titles each year, both fiction and
non-fiction (authors include Booker winner Shehan Karunatilaka, Jonathan Buckley, Chris
Stewart, Kathleen Jamie and the entire backlist of Tove Jansson).

Zara Sehr Ashraf, Editor
[email protected]

I support Izzy Everington and Louisa Dunnigan across a range of serious non-fiction
including popular science, social history, politics, business and big think titles for the Profile
and Wellcome lists. I am particularly drawn to narrative-changing ideas that shift the dial
on how we see the world or understand our politics, and rich cultural histories. Authors
whom I’ve edited and worked with closely include award-winning journalist Vicky Spratt,
sociologist Emma Dabiri, activist Leah Thomas and campaigning barrister Christian
Weaver.

Jon Petre, Editor
[email protected]

I support Cecily Gayford, Nick Humphrey, Mark Ellingham and Jenny Dean across Profile’s
non-fiction list. I’ve worked on Carolyn Boyd’s Amuse Bouche and Chris Pearson’s Collared,
and have recently acquired Dr Eleanor Drage’s debut on the ethics of AI. I manage the
editorial side of Profile’s long-standing relationship with the London Review of Books, with
titles forthcoming from Laleh Khalili and Emily Wilson.

Leila Sackur, Editorial Assistant
[email protected]

I work with Rowan Cope, Andrew Franklin and Rebecca Gray on the Profile non-fiction
list on titles spanning memoir, history, social history, politics, economics and leadership. I
provide editorial support to our writers, who include the Palestinian human rights
activist Raja Shehadeh and the celebrated historian Rashid Khalidi.

Serpent’s Tail

Mehar Anaokar, Assistant Editor
[email protected]

I support the Serpent’s Tail publisher and have worked on Playboy by Constance
Debré, No Small Thing by Orlaine McDonald, Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
and Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal. I also oversee the Serpent’s Tail Classics list, publishing
forgotten titles that add a fresh lens to our histories. Recent titles include Pedro
Páramo by Juan Rulfo and The Assault by Harry Mulisch.

Souvenir Press

Mia Cameron, Editorial Assistant
[email protected]

I work with Cindy Chan on the Souvenir Press list, assisting across self-help and
lifestyle titles as well as management of the backlist. I provide editorial support to
all our authors, including Dr Bella dePaulo, Nahid de Belgeonne, G. T. Karber and the
estate of Neil M. Gunn.

Viper Books

Miranda Jewess, Publishing Director
[email protected]

I lead Viper, the British Book Awards Imprint of the Year 2022 and CWA Publisher of the
Year 2023. Interested in commercial psychological suspense, high-concept ‘clever’ crime,
upmarket thrillers, gothic and historical mysteries, and police procedurals with something
new to say. Authors include Janice Hallett, Catriona Ward, Attica Locke, Leonora Nattrass,
Jo Wallace and Laura Dave. Forthcoming titles include A Trial in Three Acts by Guy
Morpuss, The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani and The Rush by Beth Lewis.

Charlotte Greenwood, Assistant Editor
[email protected]

I work with Miranda Jewess on the Viper list, assisting with all our hardbacks and
overseeing our paperback publications. I provide editorial support to all our authors,
including the bestselling Janice Hallett, Leonora Nattrass, Oskar Jensen and Guy Morpuss.
I’m also responsible for buy-ins, most notably the award-winning Garry Disher.