Jo Bennett joins EDPR as associate director

Jo Bennett, formerly head of campaigns at Ebury, has joined ed Public Relations as associate director after returning from New Zealand. 

Her role at EDPR will include management of the EDPR publicity team, with an additional new business remit. She will join Emma Dowson, campaigns director, on the senior management team. Her first campaign will be for the memoir I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again by Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, publishing with Bonnier Books. 

Bennett started off in publishing in Australia before relocating to the UK and spending seven years at Ebury. 

She returned to New Zealand during the pandemic where she was a regular contributor to the Listener, New Zealand’s leading current affairs magazine, interviewing figures such as Richard Dawkins, Annie Duke and Richard E Grant. She then took on the role of head of publicity for the Auckland Writers Festival before returning to the UK this autumn. 

EPR said: “Jo has led some of the most impactful non-fiction campaigns in recent years, both at Penguin UK and Penguin Australia.  

“She started her career at Walker Books Australia working with Michael Rosen and Patrick Ness, before moving to adult publishing where she has become a leading expert in health and wellbeing, memoir and smart thinking.  

“Jo has been behind the success of word-of-mouth bestsellers such as The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo, The Book of Hygge by Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Choice by Edith Eger, How Not to Be Wrong by James O’Brien and Think Again by Adam Grant.” 

As a trained journalist, Bennett has also built campaigns for high-profile authors such as Sir Richard Branson, BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson, former FT editor Lionel Barber and Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong among others. 

Managing director of EDPR, Emma Draude, said: “Jo has been behind some of the most impactful, creative and culture-defining PR and marketing campaigns of the past decade and her experience across adult’s, children’s and festival sectors is hugely impressive.  

“With a keen eye for story, and a passion for non-fiction, her strategic and ambitious approach chimes with our own. As we look towards EDPR’s 15th anniversary year, I’m delighted to welcome her to our award-winning team.” 

Bennett said: “Within in-house publishing, EDPR has always been synonymous with quality, professionalism and creativity. If we ever needed an out-of-the-box campaign – big or small – Emma’s trusted team was the first port of call. I can’t wait to bring my passion for non-fiction, and extensive experience with children’s publishing and literary festivals to this super-smart, forward-thinking team, and to continuing to deliver outstanding, creative campaigns.”