Boldwood is marking two years of publishing on August 1st and ahead of that milestone it is delighted to announce further team expansion and the acquisition of seven more authors – bringing the total number of writers on the list to 60.
Tara Loder has been appointed editorial director at Boldwood Books as the publisher celebrates its second anniversary and expands its author lists.
Loder most recently worked at Welbeck, managing the US fiction list. She has previously published commercial fiction at Bonnier Zaffre, Piatkus and Constable. In her new role, which starts on 1st August, she will be acquiring and publishing across the commercial fiction genres, with a particular focus on authors and series that have high potential in the US market.
She says: “I’ve been watching Boldwood grow, admiring their forward-thinking, savvy publishing from day one and can’t wait to become part of their amazing story. The opportunity to join such a brilliant team and build a new list is any editor’s dream. I’ve loved working at Welbeck, and know their wonderful authors will go on to delight and grip readers.”
New Boldwood writers include debut thriller author Alex Stone, a duo from New Zealand writing as Amanda Rigby who won the Boldwood psychological thriller writing competition, and revenge thriller writer Evie Hunter. In women’s fiction, the company is welcoming authors Kate Frost, Jill Steeples and journalist Clare Swatman, whose previous three novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Completing the line-up is a new Anglo-Saxon series from the historical fiction writer M J Porter. All authors have been contracted on multi-book deals and will be published in every format simultaneously in all English-language territories. The expansion brings the total number of writers on Boldwood’s books to 60.
Amanda Ridout, founder and c.e.o, said: “We are celebrating our second birthday having now sold almost four million books across e-book, audio and print formats all over the globe. We are strengthening our international presence with a print partnership in Australia with Booktopia Publishing, and our editorial heft by hiring the very talented Tara Loder. We now have a brilliant Boldwood team of eight and a list of 60 wonderful, dedicated and bestselling authors. Together we have created a successful and profitable company that looks to the future with ambition and excitement.”
Tara Loder is an experienced editor of bestselling books in both print and digital formats. She was most recently Editorial Director at Welbeck where she created debut bestsellers such as The Locksmith and managed the US fiction list, publishing writers such as Andy McNab and Mark Dawson. She has also edited across the commercial fiction genres for Bonnier Zaffre, and the Piatkus and Constable imprints.
The Latest Boldwood Authors
Amanda Rigby is the nom de plume of the writing partnership between Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, and which they won! The novel Remember Me? will be published in December 2021.
Alex Stone, originally an accountant from the West Midlands, is now a psychological suspense writer based in Dorset. This beautiful and dramatic coastline is the inspiration and setting for her novels. She was awarded the Katie Fforde Bursary in 2019 and her debut thriller The Perfect Daughter will be published by Boldwood in October 2021.
Clare Swatman is the author of three women’s fiction novels, published by Macmillan, which have been translated into over 20 languages. She has been a journalist for over twenty years, writing for Bella and Woman & Home amongst many other magazines. She lives in Hertfordshire and her first book for Boldwood, Before We Grow Old, will be published in January 2022.
Evie Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and is now redirecting her talents to produce dark gritty thrillers for Boldwood. For the past twenty years she has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK. Her first female revenge thriller The Fall will be published in September 2021.
Kate Frost is the author of several bestselling romantic escape novels including The Greek Heart, and The Love Island Bookshop. She lives in Bristol and is the Director of Storytale Festival, a book festival for children and teens she co-founded in 2019. Her first book for Boldwood, set on an idyllic Greek island, will be published in Spring 2022.
MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. She was raised in the shadow of a building that she believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so her writing destiny was set. The first novel in her new Anglo-Saxon series for Boldwood The Eagle of Mercia will be published in Spring 2022.
Jill Steeples is the author of many successful women’s fiction titles – most recently the Dog and Duck series – all set in the close communities of picturesque English villages. She lives in Bedfordshire and the first title in her new countryside series for Boldwood will be published in Spring 2022. They will also be republishing several of her backlist titles during next year.
