Meet the Team

Our Managing Director

  • Sanphy Thomas, Managing Director

    Sanphy Thomas (she/her) joined JKP as Managing Director in October 2018. She has worked in publishing for over 20 years, starting her career at Blackwell Publishing before moving on to Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan and SAGE Publishing. Her background is marketing and she is a strong believer that good publishing comes from having a deep understanding of markets and engagement with consumers.

Our Editors

  • Stephen Jones, Publishing Director

    Steve Jones (he/him) is Publishing Director at JKP, with particular responsibility for Social Care and Mental Health. He is also involved in leading the strategic development of the acquisitions team, and in developing new partnerships and acquisitions. He has over 20 years of industry experience, spanning social sciences and education. He is on Twitter at @Steve_JKPbooks

  • Lisa Clark, Publishing Director

    Lisa Clark is Publishing Director at JKP with particular responsibility for Autism & Neurodiversity. She also leads on JKP's cross-category digital opportunities.

  • Amy Lankester-Owen, Editorial Director

    Amy Lankester-Owen (she/her) is Editorial Director at JKP, overseeing JKP's Children's, and Inclusive Teaching and Learning publishing. She commissions across neurodiversity, with a focus on dyslexia and SpLDs. Amy developed Hachette's Dyslexia and ND friendly style guidelines and is an active member of the Accessibility Network. @amy_JKP on Twitter.

  • Claire Wilson, Editorial Director

    Claire Wilson commissions across the Singing Dragon list, covering acupuncture and East Asian medicine, yoga and bodywork, nutrition and other complementary medicine areas. She joined JKP in 2014 and prior to this was Commissioning Editor at Elsevier publishers where she managed the Complementary Medicine list. She has worked in publishing since 1995 and is a Masters graduate (Publishing Studies) of the University of Stirling and an English Literature graduate of the University of Glasgow. @clairesdragon on Twitter.

  • Sarah Hamlin, Senior Commissioning Editor

    Sarah Hamlin (she/her) is Senior Commissioning Editor for JKP'S Healthcare list and for Yoga, Bodywork and Pilates at Singing Dragon and Handspring. She joined JKP in 2014 as an Editorial Assistant. Follow @SarahNHamlin on Twitter.

  • Lynda Cooper, Senior Commissioning Editor

    Lynda Cooper (she/her) is Senior Commissioning Editor for JKP's Autism list, focusing on titles for parents, women and girls. Lynda has worked in publishing for over 20 years, including roles in marketing and digital strategy and as Lecturer in Publishing at the University of Plymouth. Lynda is on Twitter at @suddenlycolour.

  • Jane Evans, Senior Commissioning Editor

    Jane Evans (she/her) is Senior Commissioning Editor for JKP’s Mental Health & Counselling and Gender & Sexuality (UK) lists. She is one of Hachette UK’s divisional wellbeing ambassadors and joined JKP as an Editorial Assistant in 2013. @Jane_JKP on Twitter.

  • Elen Griffiths, Senior Commissioning Editor

    Elen Griffiths commissions on our Social Care list, with a focus on adult social care and dementia, and across Mental Health. She also acquires projects on the creative arts therapies. @elen_jkp on Twitter.

  • Sean Townsend, Senior Commissioning Editor

    Sean Townsend (he/him) is Senior Commissioning Editor working across JKP’s Autism & Neurodiversity list. He is currently focused on ADHD, autism, dyscalculia and DLD. He joined JKP in 2016 and can be found on Twitter @Sean_JKP.

  • Abbie Howard, Assistant Editor

    Abbie is an Assistant Editor at JKP and commissions for our Physical Disabilities list focused on publishing lived experienced voices. She joined JKP in 2021 and she also assists on JKP's Autism and Neurodiversity list and serves as the co-chair of the Neurodiversity Subgroup within Hachette.

  • Pauli Roos, Assistant Editor

    Pauli (she/her) is Assistant Editor for JKP’s Autism & Neurodiversity list. She is focused on Inclusive Teaching and Learning Resources. She joined JKP in 2020 as Editorial Assistant after completing her Master’s Degree in Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes University and an LLB from The University of Pretoria. Pauli can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @JKPRoos.

  • Masooma Malik, Editorial Assistant

    Masooma Malik is an editorial assistant primarily working within Singing Dragon, Handspring and Health. She joined JKP in 2020.

  • Jenny Edwards, Editorial Assistant

    Jenny (she/her) joined the team in 2023 as an Editorial Assistant and is also a Communications Manager for the Sustainability Network. Before publishing, she worked in the sustainability sphere as a Writer and Communications Manager. Jenny has a degree in English and American Literature and Creative Writing from Kent University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, gaming, and writing poetry.

  • Sarah Thomson, Editorial Assistant

    Sarah (she/her) joined JKP in September 2022, and mostly works on the Mental Health and Social Care list. She has an BA in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University. In her spare time, Sarah can be found buried in a mountain of knitting and sewing projects, or running game nights with her local D&D group.

  • Laura Dignum-Smith, Editorial Assistant

    Laura joined JKP in 2022 and works primarily on the Gender & Sexuality and Autism & Neurodiversity lists. Always happiest around books, Laura has previously worked in Sales and Marketing for CILIP, the library and information association, and has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University. Outside of work, she can normally be found ankle deep in Walthamstow Wetlands.

Our Sales Team

  • Mark Scott, Sales Director

    Mark has worked at director level in the book publishing industry for twenty years and has a wide range of sales experience across many different markets and channels. He joined JKP in 2014, and is responsible for managing the company’s sales in the UK and Export markets. Mark’s portfolio of customers is ever expanding and encompasses traditional booksellers, wholesalers, special sales, professionals and electronic sales.

  • Emily Short, Sales Manager

    Emily Short works across the JMP Specialist imprints. She champions JKP titles to the wider group sales teams and sells into a variety of specialist customers, including independent bookshops, wholesalers and other book-buying organisations.

  • Olivia Bromage, Sales Assistant

    Olivia joined JKP in July 2023 after graduating from Northeastern University London with a BA in English Literature with Philosophy. Previously, Olivia completed an internship with the International Sales and Business Development Team at Penguin Random House, inspiring her interest in Specialist Sales. Olivia works across all of JKP’s specialist imprints, but in particular spearheads new sales opportunities for Handspring and Singing Dragon.

Our Marketing Team

  • Tamara Navaratnam, Marketing Director

    Tamara joined JKP in January 2020. She has worked in publishing for over 15 years, the majority of that time at SAGE Publishing where she specialised in marketing textbooks in Health, Nursing, Social Work and Counselling. Tamara leads JKP’s UK Marketing team in constantly growing both our understanding of our communities and their needs, as well as the marketing skills required to best connect them with the books that will support them.

  • Áine Ryan, Senior Marketing Manager

    Áine (she/her) joined JKP’s marketing team in 2017 and has looked after our range of autism books ever since. She is an active member of Hachette’s Accessibility Network, which she helped run for 2 years, working to improve the accessibility of our books and industry for people with a disability or neurodivergence. Áine has a degree in English Literature from Sussex Uni, and moved to Bristol in 2021, where she lives with her husband and toddler. You can follow Áine on Twitter at @aineryan_jkp

  • Yanmin Zhuchen-Mander, Senior Marketing Manager

    Yan (she/her) joined us in 2022 from HarperCollins where she worked in their education imprint and led Elevate as Co-Chair (their BAME network). She now looks after the Languages list at John Murray Press, heading up an exciting new chapter for Teach Yourself and Michel Thomas. In addition to this, she sits on the JMP Mirror Board for 2023 and runs The FLIP, a platform that aims to inspire people in publishing with insight from leaders across the industry. You can follow her here: @yanmin_zm.

  • Linda DeAngelis, Marketing Manager

    Linda joined JKP in 2015. She began her career as a bookseller and landed her first publishing role in 2009. After returning from her second maternity leave in 2021 she has taken over all marketing activities for JMP’s Hodder Faith list. She has a degree in General Linguistics from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and holds an MA in Translation and Interpreting from Westminster University, London.

  • Matt Young, Marketing Manager

    Matt (he/him) joined the marketing department in 2016 and has worked across mental health, social care, early years and most recently, the autism and neurodiversity list. During a secondment in 2022 he oversaw digital marketing for trade publisher Orion Publishing Group. Matt also worked for the wellness imprint Sheldon Press and is now marketing manager for business imprint NB Publishing at John Murray Press. Matt is technical marketing lead for eCommerce and websites.

  • Sandra Nimako-Boatey, Senior Marketing Executive

    Sandra (she/her) is Marketing Executive for Singing Dragon, Handspring and the Healthcare list. Sandra joined JKP in 2021 and has previously worked at HarperCollins and Sweet & Maxwell. She has a Masters in Publishing Studies from The University of Stirling and in her spare time reviews books on YouTube. She can be found on Twitter:@SandraNB_SD

  • Harry Taylor, Senior Marketing Executive

    Harry (he/they) joined JKP in 2021 and looks after the marketing for our social work, gender diversity & sexuality, dementia, arts therapies and adoption & fostering titles. Before publishing, Harry worked in the film and television industry and joins us with a wealth of design and digital marketing expertise. Harry is also a member of the Hachette Pride Network and has been selected for the Hachette Diverse Leaders Scheme 2022. Find Harry on Twitter@Harry_JKP.

  • Charlotte Chisholm, Senior Marketing Executive

    Charlotte (she/her) joined JKP in 2019 after a previous marketing role at a magazine publishing agency. She manages the marketing for the Inclusive Teaching and Learning list and some of the neurodiversity titles as well as overseeing JKP’s children’s books. She has a degree from London College of Communication and a Diploma in Sound and Music Production, which have developed her skills in creative problem solving when campaign building and navigating new digital platforms.

  • Gracie Maddison, Marketing Executive

    Starting at JKP in March 2022, Gracie (she/her) joined us from Macmillan Education where she marketed the student study skills, STEM, and psychology books, as well as Macmillan Learning’s digital products. In addition to marketing, she has also worked on various design projects, employing her creative background and passion for illustration. Gracie now looks after the marketing for the mental health lists across JKP and John Murray’s Sheldon imprint.

  • Hollie Juniper, Marketing Assistant

    Hollie (she/her) joined JKP as a marketing assistant in June 2024. Previously a bookseller at The Feminist Bookshop, she’s excited to be starting her publishing career with a publisher whose values align so seamlessly with hers, and whose books she is passionate about. Her role includes working across all the JKP and JMP specialist non-fiction lists. 

Our Production Team

  • Vicki Peters, Senior Production Manager

    Vicki Peters is Senior Production Manager for JKP, overseeing the production editorial, production control and design teams. She leads the strategy for the department, with a particular focus on sustainability and accessibility.

  • Emma Holak, Production Editorial Manager

    Emma Holak (she/her) is Production Editorial Manager for JKP, having joined the company in 2014. As well as overseeing projects through production, she also manages the team of production editors and is one of the founding members of the John Murray Press diversity and inclusion working group. Emma is based in our Edinburgh office.

  • Adam Peacock, Design Manager

    Adam Peacock is the Design Manager for JKP. He oversees and advises on covers, interiors, illustrations, typography and photography. 

  • Carys Homer, Senior Production Editor

    Carys (she/her) is a Senior Production Editor, working across all lists. She joined JKP in 2021, having previously worked in travel publishing. She is also co-chair of Hachette UK’s Accessibility Network (from January 2024).

  • Claire Robinson, Senior Production Editor

    Claire Robinson (she/her) is Senior Production Editor for JKP, having joined the company in 2018. She is responsible for overseeing and managing the production process of JKP products from handover to publication across all subject areas. She also coordinates freelance recruitment for the production department and has worked in publishing for almost ten years. 

  • Laura Savage, Production Editor

    Laura joined JKP in April 2023 as a Production Editor across all titles, with a particular interest in the
    children’s gender list. After her English Literature degree Laura had various roles in social media and digital content, before undertaking an MA in Publishing at University of the Arts London and following her passion for printed books that make a difference.

Our US Team (Philadelphia)

  • David Corey, VP Sales and Marketing

    David (he/him) directs U.S. and Canadian JMP sales and marketing operations, inclusive of JKP, Singing Dragon, Handspring, and other imprints. His responsibilities include US publishing program development; team leadership; territorial sales reach and expansion; and long term growth strategy. He has worked in the book-publishing industry for nearly three decades, guiding thousands of books to market at such houses as W. W. Norton, Tuttle Publishing, and University Press of New England. He lives and works in Philadelphia.

  • Katelynn Bartleson, Associate Marketing Director

    Katelynn manages U.S. JMP marketing operations for JKP, Singing Dragon, Handspring and other imprints. Her responsibilities include brand management, ROI analysis, publicity and marketing strategy development, digital strategy growth, and team leadership. Katelynn has worked at JKP since 2009, including a stint as an intern at the company. She is based in Philadelphia.

  • Stephanie DeMuzio, Sales and Marketing Operations Manager

    Stephanie (she/her) is the technical lead in U.S. e-commerce on JKP, Singing Dragon and Handspring websites, as well as stock replenishment and database management. She graduated Arcadia University with a BA in Print Communications. Stephanie began her career with JKP in 2012 as one of our intrepid interns.

  • Julia Zullo, Sales Account Manager

    Julia joined the team in September, 2017 as Relationship Coordinator after receiving a Master’s in Education from Lehigh University. Some of her responsibilities include building relationships with readers, researching consumer needs, and assisting in the development of marketing campaigns. Prior to JKP, Julia worked at the Stephanie Tade Literary Agency. She has a background in social work and is passionate about the overlap of publishing and social change. Julia graduated with a BA in English Literature from the University of Virginia.

  • Carolyn Farnham, Senior Marketing Executive

    Carolyn (she/her) became a member of JKP in 2019. Prior to publishing, she taught through the Teach for America program and worked as an educational consultant. She has a BA in English from Yale University and studied publishing at New York University’s Publishing Institute. At JKP, she works on the Autism & Neurodiversity, Inclusive Education, and Religion & Chaplaincy lists.

  • Alex DiFrancesco, Commissioning Editor

    Alex DiFrancesco (they/them
    or he/him) is the US-based
    commissioning editor for the Gender and Sexuality list. They hold a BA from New
    School University and have an MFA in writing from Cleveland State University.
    They began their publishing work as an intern at Seven Stories Press in New
    York City, and have since worked for a series of progressive publishers such as
    Sundress Publications in Knoxville, TN. They joined JKP in 2022.

  • Megan Donny, Marketing Executive

    Megan (she/her) joined JKP in August 2022. Prior to JKP, she interned with Nicholas Brealey Publishing and Mobius Books. She has a BA in Journalism and Public Relations with a minor in Marketing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2023, she earned her MA in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University. Megan looks after the U.S. marketing for JKP’s mental health, social work, gender & sexuality, adoption and fostering and arts therapies lists.

  • Kaitlyn Shokes, Marketing Executive

    Kaitlyn looks after all the marketing and publicity for Nicholas Brealey, Hodder Faith, and Arts and Music Therapy for JKP in the US. Starting at JKP in early 2023, Kaitlyn has worked as marketing associate for Ploughshares Journal, publicity intern at MIT Press, and has freelanced editing and copyediting services. She has an BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College along with a MA in Publishing and Writing from Emerson College.