Tross leaves Hodder for Bookouture as Bord builds non-fiction list

Hodder crime and thriller publisher Ruth Tross is joining Bookouture as a publishing director while Claire Bord will start commissioning the digital imprint’s first non-fiction titles.

Bord (right) has been tasked with diversifying the list while continuing to publish her fiction authors including the bestselling writer Angela Marsons. She will keep her publisher title and remain a member of the management team in her new role, which begins in May.

Bookouture c.e.o. Oliver Rhodes said Bord had a “brilliant insight” into what was needed for setting up a new list. He said: “As we look to diversify our publishing, I find it really exciting that Claire will have the opportunity to do this again – operating in an entrepreneurial role where I know she will add enormous value.”

Bord said: “I will always be a passionate fiction editor and to be able to complement that with my love of non-fiction is an amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to build on the phenomenal success we’ve achieved at Bookouture by branching out into an area of the market we don’t currently occupy, and expanding our readership even further.”

Tross will join the company in May, heading up the editorial team which currently reports to Bord. She started her publishing career at Sceptre, before launching the Mulholland crime list at Hodder & Stoughton in 2011. In 2017 she became Hodder's crime and thriller publisher, working on titles by Jeffery Deaver, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Sabine Durrant and Erin Kelly among others.

In her new role, Tross will report to publisher Jenny Geras, who said she was “over the moon” with the appointment. She added: “Her reputation in the industry is rightly outstanding – combining list management and team leadership with a track record of publishing both physical and digital bestsellers. I know she will do a brilliant job of leading the team here, and in growing her own list.”

Tross added: “I will miss Hodder immensely – I started as an editorial assistant there, and everything I know I’ve learnt from my wonderful authors and colleagues along the way. But there are always new things to discover and I am very excited to be joining an innovative and impressive company that publishes very differently, at a key moment in its expansion.”