Hodder to launch Yellow Kite imprint

Hodder is launching Yellow Kite, a new self-help and personal development imprint, in January.

Headed by publisher Liz Gough, the imprint will publish “books to help you live a good life”, and the launch list of nine titles includes physical and mental health books and diet and popular psychology titles, with an added focus of first-person experiences. Yellow Kite apps will also launch alongside certain titles to enhance the practical element of the books.

The list launches with two diet titles in January: The Every Other Day Diet (2nd, tpb, £13.99) by Dr Krista Varady and Bill Gottlieb is a guide to intermittent fasting by one of the “world’s leading experts” on the subject; meanwhile Grain Brain (16th, tbp, £13.99) by David Perlmutter is a New York Times bestseller which exposes the scientific truth of the effects of wheat, carbs and sugar on the brain.

February brings two personal development titles with a memoir element: Linda Blair’s The Key to Calm (13th, tpb, £14.99) is a five-step programme “to mindfulness and beyond”, while One Million Lovely Letters (13th, HB £14.99) by Jodi Ann Bickley is the memoir of a stroke survivor who sends uplifting letters to people around the world.

Gough said the “authentic voice” was “something I’m keen on . . . where you’ve got an author who can share a life lesson and combine that with cutting-edge science. There is still room in the market for step-by-step books, but I do feel the market is moving away from that,” she said. “It’s fascinating when you’ve got a personal story combined with tangible advice. In April I am publishing Black Rainbow (24th, hb, £16.99) by Rachel Kelly, a beautifully written account of depression which will help sufferers on a profound level but also on a practical level, with strategies to help overcome it.”

Gough said there is a “market of people interested in mental health and wellbeing,” and noted the success of Ruby Wax’s Sane New World, which Hodder published in June. Also publishing are Awakening Your Soul Signature by Panache Desai (10th April, tpb, £14.99), Mindfulness on the Go (8th May, tpb, £12.99) and Happiness is a State of Mind (5th June, tpb, £12.99), as well as a title for fathers-to-be which light-heartedly plays on using army tactics: Commando Dad: Raw Recruits (22nd May, tpb, £10.99).

Yellow Kite’s titles have attracted media interest, with a serialisation secured for The Every Other Day Diet in in a national broadsheet. “In this era of life and work, boundaries are blurring and people are looking for ways to manage and do things differently,” Gough said. “I want this list to have a fantastic reputation in this area and for it to be the go-to list for agents and authors who want to be part of a growing family of experts.”