Gough leaves Yellow Kite after 11 years for newly created DK Adult m.d. role

Yellow Kite’s Liz Gough has been appointed to the newly created role of m.d. of DK Adult.  

Gough will join in February 2024, reporting directly to DK c.e.o. Paul Kelly, and will sit on the UK board and global executive team. 

DK said Gough will “shape the future vision for DK’s adult publishing strategy and continue to build its presence on a global scale” and have the “broad remit of evolving the newly combined DK Adult list – Life, Travel and Knowledge”.  

DK added: “She will strengthen the publisher’s core areas of expertise and create a strategic vision to broaden its publishing base across new genres and formats. Gough’s impressive reputation for identifying new talent and nurturing established authors will help her to build both the frontlist and the division’s profile within the industry and ensure DK’s presence is felt in future competitive auctions with agents, authors and brands.”  

Gough has over 20 years of experience as a creative non-fiction publisher. She joins DK after nearly 11 years at Hodder & Stoughton, where she launched the Yellow Kite imprint in 2014, which publishes leading voices in the health and wellbeing space, and where she held the role of executive publisher.  

The news comes a month after DK announced a major restructure with the creation of four new m.d. roles including promotions for Sarah Larter, Mark Searle and Hilary Fine, as well as the newly created position for which Gough has been recruited. 

The changes follow former joint c.e.o. Rebecca Smart’s move across to be internal leadership and talent coach for PRH UK, and sees DK broaden its investment in creative content and simplify the publishing structure into four divisions: children’s, licensing, learning and adult. 

Kelly said: “Liz’s track record speaks for itself – an entrepreneurial publisher with exceptional creativity. I have been looking for someone to set out an ambitious and unified publishing vision for DK Adult, and who will bring a fresh perspective and exciting new acquisitions to the list."

He added: "In addition to doing the things we already do brilliantly, I’m keen to expand significantly beyond our current scope and bring in more editorial experience in new areas. Liz is esteemed within our industry, and I’m confident that she is the right person to lead this new area of growth.”  

Gough said: “Founding Yellow Kite almost 10 years ago and growing it into a non-fiction powerhouse has been exhilarating and rewarding. I am grateful to my brilliant and hardworking colleagues and authors, as well as to the agents and external partners who have helped the kite fly high and make it what it is today, but I feel now is the time for a new challenge.  

“I have been watching DK diversify its publishing and grow its UK trade presence with interest, and this new role is a really exciting opportunity to help shape the future of three important areas of the business. I am looking forward to soaring high again: driving the ambitious growth plans at DK Adult, expanding its publishing range and creating a cohesive identity for the new division along with Paul, the senior leadership team and the talented creative teams.” 

During her tenure, Gough acquired Ella Mills’ bestselling plant-based cookbook Deliciously Ella in 2015, a book “that created a new market for plant-based cookbooks and put Yellow Kite firmly on the map,” DK said. Under Gough’s leadership, Yellow Kite launched the writing careers of many other major brand authors, was twice shortlisted as imprint of the year at the British Book Awards in the past seven years, with Gough was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2016. Previous to Yellow Kite, she was editorial director at Pan Macmillan.