Jo Morrell appointed publisher at Short Books as Joanna Copestick announces retirement

Octopus Publishing Group has appointed Jo Morrell as publisher at Short Books, following the decision by Joanna Copestick, publisher at Kyle Books and Short Books, to retire at the end of 2025.

Morrell has joined the publisher following a career in magazine and newspaper publishing. Most recently, she was chief publishing officer and managing editor at the Telegraph. In the past, Morrell was part of the team that launched The Pool UK, having previously worked at Bauer Media as managing director of Grazia and other brands in the parenting and health sectors.

Alongside her role at Short Books – which concentrates on health, diet, popular science, psychology and wellbeing – Morrell will continue in her non-executive advisory roles at both Intuitive Events and at First Source BPM. She will also continue as executive chair at the start-up JustHealthAI, a new "hormone health management" platform.

Copestick joined Kyle Books – which publishes cooking, crafts, lifestyle, and gardening titles – as publisher in 2018, taking on additional responsibility for Short Books in 2022. During her time at Kyle Books, she has published titles including Wagamama: Feed Your Soul, The Repair Shop: Life in the Barn and The Handbook of Home Design. She will remain at Octopus Publishing Group ahead of her retirement at the end of 2025, and will focus on acquiring and publishing illustrated titles for Kyle Books until then. 

Anna Bond, managing director at Octopus Publishing Group, said: "I am delighted to welcome Jo Morrell to Octopus to lead Short Books and combine her experience in magazines, newspapers and online platforms with that of Short Books’ authors, existing and future, to help them reach even wider audiences and help them thrive. I am also happy to be able to support Jo Copestick in her wish to focus her time on the beautiful, illustrated books that both she and Kyle Books are known for.”

Copestick said: “My six years at Octopus have passed in a flash and I’m now looking forward to freeing up some time for non-book activities after four decades in illustrated publishing. I’ve been privileged to work with some of the most successful and talented chefs, brands, gardeners and craftspeople over the years and it will be a pleasure to acquire more inspirational titles for the Octopus team before I step down at the end of 2025. Already in the works for next year are an exciting new title from the hugely successful food brand Bold Beans, a brand-new Repair Shop book for the autumn and new publishing with Frances Tophill, Jürgen Krauss, Nathan Outlaw and Pipers Farm.”

Morrell added: “I’m looking forward to working with the teams and talented individuals within Octopus and Short Books. Our audience are well-informed, discerning, and physically and socially active, so our books will continue to embody their proactive and positive outlook, offering science-backed and practical advice that is both achievable and sensible, helping them make the most of their life.”