I’m an editor who specialises in compulsive commercial fantasy and speculative fiction for adult and YA readers. Whether it’s romantic fantasy or fantasy romance, deliciously dark academia or ghostly gothic thrillers, romantic dystopian or just plain sci-fi, I devour it all.

I’m on the lookout for books with a hook or a twist; that are unique and surprising with authentic voices; something that leans into the popular tropes but also loves to subvert them. I want to lose myself in wondrous worldbuilding; read propulsive plots with a healthy dose of action and adventure; meet strong, independent heroes; and be utterly entranced by swoon-worthy love interests in all shades of grey

I look forward to escaping to these worlds with you

A lifelong reader and book hoarder, as a commissioning editor I am now lucky enough to help writers and stories find their way onto the TBRs and into the hearts of Australian readers. I am looking for manuscripts with strong voices that transport, entertain, challenge and linger. I acquire adult fiction and narrative non-fiction, and children’s books for older readers, and I especially love working with debut authors and publishing diverse voices and stories that truly reflect Australia. 

My bedside table is heaving under the weight of Aussie crime fiction, millennial, historical and upmarket general fiction – the kind of books that spark knotty book-club debates – as well as the latest buzzy books that everyone is talking about. I love voicey, talky books with edgy and memorable narrators (even unreliable ones) and high-concept books for older children. In non-fiction, I want resonance, authenticity and to be moved. I love to lose myself in a book, be completely immersed in the world it brings to life and to feel a bit changed or a bit smarter by the end of it. A laugh out loud and/or an ugly cry is always welcome too. 

Having spent much of my career so far working in commercial fiction, including at a digital-first publisher, I am a great reader and fan of almost all types of commercial fiction. Now I am delighted to commission more broadly, including book club and upmarket fiction and narrative non-fiction, but a rich and propulsive storyline is still a non-negotiable for me. 

Sweeping sagas, laugh-out-loud rom-coms, twisty psychological suspense, gritty crime, sharp contemporary fiction – I am here for it all. I especially love anything with a unique voice, a spectacular sense of place or a killer hook. Please note that my list is adult only, and while I enjoy a light-touch speculative element, I am not the right reader for deep genre science fiction or fantasy

In terms of non-fiction, I am looking for engaging memoir and thoughtful approaches to social and environmental issues, with a focus on intersectionality. 

I love working closely with authors (and the team we assemble around them) to create books that make everyday life and ordinary things that bit richer – bringing solutions, inspiration, beauty and practical joy.

Topics that excite me are food and the connection it can forge, health (even if by stealth), community, all aspects of living (inside and outside), rituals, design and popular culture, and beyond the job title, I’m equally moved and influenced by music and art.

I tend to look for people first and the books second. I look for people with a point of view, a clear voice, a way with a recipe (or a way of thinking), often an aesthetic and a world you can step into. I understand the importance of design and photography, and our books are always visually led.

The things I look for in a book to publish tend to be the same things I think about a lot outside of working hours: ways to make life warmer, richer, ways to cook with more joy or ease, to be more creative, to slow down and to find meaning and beauty in everyday moments.

I’m nominally, but not exclusively, publisher of the Picador imprint at Pan Macmillan. My main focus is on fiction that uses traditional genre forms – crime, historical, speculative, horror – to literary ends, though I remain ready to be surprised by any work that is rich and strange. 

In terms of non-fiction, I like projects that take complex or controversial ideas – about society, culture, politics, history – and make them understandable and engaging to intelligent ordinary readers. I’m also fond of superior true crime and memoir, as well as being deeply engaged with Indigenous literature and writing of place, more broadly. 

That said, I’m also a born-again romance publisher and a lover of good, gritty crime novels of any stripe. Note that I’m not the ideal reader for Kids/YA and commercial non-fiction. For almost two decades, I was chief literary critic of The Australian. I’ve also written two books of my own, so I know the pleasures and pains of being an author firsthand.   

I publish fiction and non-fiction books for Pan Macmillan. My great fiction loves are the page-turners, the escapist nail-biters and the genre busters. I’m looking for thrillers (action, domestic, psychological, supernatural), pacey historical fiction and character-driven novels. I also welcome some sci-fi or fantasy when it serves a character-driven story, but not as the centre of the plot. Ultimately, I love an ‘unputdownable’ read, whether it’s from a compulsive plot, memorable character or the right touch of humour – whatever it takes to keep the pages turning themselves. 

In non-fiction, I look for books that inspire, motivate and solve a problem. I like works that take lived experience and subject matter expertise and combine them into something transformative, a book that will make the reader more informed and feel better than when they started. I also enjoy comedy, history and career-focused memoirs. I believe in publishing a broad range of voices from across life’s spectrum. 

My taste skews firmly towards what’s called ‘commercial’ in the trade – engaging and mass-market, not literary – and I focus on Adults, not Kids/YA. I work with authors to turn them into career writers and brands. This could be you.  

I’ve roamed happily across genres in my publishing life: I’ve worked for a UK literary magazine, side-stepped into adult non-fiction, and am now the children’s publisher at Pan (and may answer to the name of Mr Big Nose).

We have a boutique list of kids’ books and I’m looking for stories across age groups (except picture books) that are full of heart and humour with fresh, arresting voices and words that sparkle. I’m keen to find narrative non-fiction that spotlights, with zest, the wonder of the world.

I also publish adult titles, from commercial women’s fiction, crime and psychological thrillers – stories that beat irrepressibly with warmth, character and plot (twisty is good!) – to narrative non-fiction that dives into the quirk of a subject such as popular science, maths, history, language … and appeals to curious minds. 

I love finding authors with unexpected, compelling voices – in all genres. 

I have published extensively in the non-fiction space, from self-help to memoir to cookery. I look for writers who understand the power of story (even when writing a recipe), along with content that puts the reader at the front and centre of everything: the recipe that works, the life advice that changes behaviour, the memoir that unlocks a room in the soul. I love working on books that help make life better.   

My dream book is one that reaches the reader who only buys one book a year, sparks numerous conversations, and has a seismic impact on how we think and live. I publish a small number of fiction titles. I gravitate towards page-turners that pack an emotional punch.  

My reading-for-pleasure pile typically includes philosophy lite (Four Thousand Weeks); a book on a current issue (The Lasting Harm); and a sparkly novel (The Wedding People).