Hodder & Stoughton restructure sees Dickinson step up and Howard leave

Hodder & Stoughton has announced a restructure to the fiction editorial team with Jo Dickinson stepping up and Kate Howard leaving the company after 16 years. 

Crime and thriller publisher Dickinson (pictured above) will take on the new role of executive publisher for fiction, two years after she joined from Simon & Schuster UK. Howard, formerly general fiction publisher, has now left Hodder & Stoughton as a result of the changes. Their two roles were merged as the publisher deemed there was increasing "blurring" of the general fiction and crime genres.

Carolyn Mays, m.d. of Hodder & Stoughton, said: “The fiction market has been evolving rapidly in the last few years, and we have seen strong growth in multiple genres and formats. For some years Hodder has had one publisher looking after general fiction, and another looking after crime and thriller. In recent months market changes have led to much blurring of lines between genres. Our publishing strategies are driven by the needs of our authors, and format rather than genre, and the strategic goals for both the general fiction and crime and thriller publishing areas are the same.  

“Our current structure has made for unnecessary duplication of effort at a leadership level across the two publishing areas, and is not appropriate for the future market. We have therefore created one over-arching role of executive publisher, fiction, which will have accountability for the commercial fiction publishing in Hodder.”  

Mays added: “I am delighted to say that Jo Dickinson will be taking on this new role. She will be responsible for delivering strategy and growth targets across the Hodder fiction list. I am very sorry to say that as a result of this restructure, Kate Howard’s role no longer exists and she has left the company.  

“Kate has been an inspired and inspiring colleague as she led the general fiction team over the last five years; she spotted the YA fiction explosion at its very beginning, publishing Lauren Oliver’s breakout bestseller Before I Fall and following that with Laini Taylor’s highly influential Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, as well as the number one bestselling Caraval series by Stephanie Garber. She also published Gavin Extence, whose prize-winning debut was selected for The Richard & Judy Book Club, and Kindle number one author Sally Hepworth, as well as a host of others. We’re grateful to her for all she’s done and will miss her greatly.” 

Howard said: "I love everything about our wonderful industry and look forward to playing a part in bringing the very best fiction to readers in the future."