Jo de Vries

Personal statement

Jo de Vries has over 16 years’ experience in non-fiction, trade, specialist, and educational publishing – commissioning and project managing a wide range of commercially successful and award-winning titles. With a strong understanding of general trade and specialist markets, she helps her authors to develop their titles and publishers to grow their audiences.

She specialises in agenting, commissioning, and project managing non-fiction titles ranging from popular science and psychology through to cultural history. She is also well-versed in creating beautiful highly illustrated packages for international audiences. Her most recent titles include developing and agenting Defining You by Fiona Murden, which won Business Book of the Year 2018 – Self-Development and Silver in the Axiom Business Awards.

Alongside her role as Senior Lecturer in Journalism & Publishing at Bath Spa University, she is currently heading up a new non-fiction list for a well-respected independent trade publisher. She also commissions, curates, and edits the online magazine for The Sisters, a global women’s empowerment project run by Yale World Fellow, Roz Savage MBE.

Over the past three years, she has consulted in an editorial capacity for the inspirational Ellen MacArthur Foundation on a range of game-changing reports regarding the powerful role a circular economy can play in transitioning our plastics, fashion, mobility, and built environment sectors to a model that is restorative and regenerative by design. She seeks to align her projects with her passions in sustainability, education, equality, history, journalism, and politics – in the belief that publishing has a vital role to play in creating a fairer, healthier, and more equal society.

Academic qualifications

• BA (Hons), English Literature - The Open University
• Diploma in English and Creative Writing (Distinction)

Professional qualifications

• Fellow - Higher Education Academy