Gough leaves HarperCollins Ireland to set up own venture

Catherine Gough has left her role as commissioning editor at HarperCollins Ireland to set up her own professional publishing services, Catherine Gough Editorial. 

She finished with HarperCollins Ireland at the beginning of May. She told The Bookseller: “I’ve been on maternity leave for a while, which afforded me the space to really think about what I want out of my career for the next few years. I acquired a book called Total Reset by career psychologist Sinéad Brady last year, which was published this March, and she talks about our careers having different seasons that reflect our lives. I’m ready to see what the next season brings.” 

She said she decided to strike out on her own “in pursuit of a pace of work that might better complement the needs of my personal life”. She told The Bookseller: “I’ve swapped the certainty of working in-house for the flexibility of working for myself, but I’m delighted that I’ve had such a positive response from the industry about the move. There is a gap in the market for someone with my level of experience with big-picture edits. I’m excited to work on projects with many different publishers – the quality of books produced by Irish publishers has never waned – and I’m looking forward to working with UK publishers who have a lot of talented Irish writers on their books.” 

She added: “I plan to add another string to my bow over the next few years by running courses for authors and aspiring editors. Seeing an idea flourish and a story take shape is one of my favourite parts of the job, but I also found great satisfaction in coaching the editors who worked for me and seeing their confidence grow along with their skill. I’d like to share my knowledge with those trying to get into publishing, whether they’re pursuing a publishing contract or a career as an editor.” 

Gough started her career as an assistant editor for Veritas, a small publisher in Dublin, before landing a role as managing editor at Gill. She then moved to head of editorial development at Gill Books, before joining HarperCollins Ireland in March 2021, where she published a number of bestsellers including Time and Tide by Charlie Bird, Gaffs by Rory Hearne, Total Reset by Sinéad Brady, and the award-winning Girls Who Slay Monsters by Ellen Ryan, illustrated by Shona Shirley Macdonald.  

“I’ll miss the creative and collaborative nature of being a commissioning editor, but I’m looking forward to running my own business,” she said. 

Gough’s website can be found here.