Ritherdon leaves Head of Zeus to join former c.e.o. at Boldwood

Sarah Ritherdon, Head of Zeus (HoZ) editorial director at digital imprint Aria, is leaving the publisher to join HoZ’s former c.e.o Amanda Ridout’s new company.

Ritherdon will join Ridout at Boldwood Books, a new commercial fiction press, in the role of publishing director.

Ridout left HoZ in November 2017 and stepped down from its board last summer. Two other ex-HoZ employees, former Aria publisher Caroline Ridding and sales/marketing and publishing director Nia Beynon, have already been announced as joining her new firm.

“It is thrilling to be able to welcome Sarah to the team at this early stage in the company’s development,” Ridout said. “With her alongside Caroline and Nia we have a formidable line-up of experience and energy in commercial fiction with which to build a highly successful business.” 

Ritherdon, who will join Boldwood on 8th May, added: “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to work with the team of Amanda, Caroline and Nia again, particularly as part of an energetic new venture that is determined to be a true partner with authors. We will guarantee an exceptional service to all our authors, a tried and trusted commercial eye for talent, and a nurturing environment for new and experienced writers alike. I can’t wait to get started.”

At Aria, Ritherdon launched the careers of authors including Zoe Folbigg, Lindsey Hutchinson, Lucy Coleman and Janet Hoggarth. 

Ritherdon previously worked at HarperCollins for more than five years before she left her publishing director role in 2013 and went on to join HoZ. She was responsible for the early success of Kimberley Chambers and was the publisher of Josephine Cox and Barbara Erskine among others. 

The news of Ritherdon’s departure comes after HoZ told staff in December that a number of roles were being made redundant. 

HoZ publisher Nicolas Cheetham said, despite the moves, Aria would continue to “flourish”, with the launch of a new audio strand next month. Laura Palmer will be publishing director, working alongside commissioning editors Rosie de Courcy and Hannah Smith, and marketing executive Victoria Joss. A new recruit will join Aria in the spring.

He said: “Aria’s dynamic digital list is an integral part Head of Zeus’ publishing philosophy. Since launching in 2016, Aria has published 80 authors, some 300 titles, sold many millions of ebooks and earned 78 top 10 bestsellers around the globe. Over the last year, we have expanded into print, selling over 150,000 paperbacks. Next month we look forward to launching Aria Audio and to unveiling our new website. Aria will flourish. We are committed to our mission goals: to publish addictive genre fiction from the best storytellers, in all formats, all over the world.”

Boldwood Books is now open for submissions and is expecting to publish its first books in August.