Helen Huthwaite
PublisherHelen is pretty sure that if you cut her open she would bleed Avon, having joined the division soon after its inception in 2010 and leading the team as Publishing Director since 2017. Helen’s voracious love of commercial fiction means that working at Avon isn’t much like a job at all, particularly as she gets to work with some of the very best authors in the business on the most page-turning novels around.
Emma Grundy Haigh
Editorial DirectorEmma has been lucky to edit and publish everything from popular travel guides and infotastic children’s how-tos, award-winning crime fiction to bestselling romance. Before joining Avon, she spent five years at Joffe Books, where she ran the Joffe Books Prize. She is a Bookseller Rising Star and was shortlisted for Editor of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2024. She has always championed commercial fiction and has been honoured to work with dazzling debut authors and exceptional established bestsellers alike. She loves books that grab you from the first page, whether they’re riotously funny rom-coms, edge-of-your-seat domestic thrillers, twisty whodunnits or swoon-worthy historical sagas. Emma is passionate about bringing more underrepresented voices to more readers’ bookshelves.
Amy Mae Baxter
Editorial DirectorAmy has had a varied career prior to Avon, having previously worked at Dialogue Books and Penguin Random House, working on everything from sexy romance novels to historical essay collections. Her passion, however, is hooky commercial fiction. Whether it be thrilling crime or soaring romance, Amy is focussed on books with a brilliant one sentence pitch – books that move genres on, whilst remaining firmly seated in tropes we know and love. Much of her career has been spent working with writers of colour, and in her spare time, she runs a books magazine by and about writers of colour, Bad Form. She is particularly interested in hearing from writers from underrepresented backgrounds, especially those interested in developing IP ideas.
Rachel Hart
Senior Commissioning EditorHaving previously been at Head of Zeus and Welbeck, Rachel has loved working with phenomenal debut authors as well as seasoned Sunday Times bestsellers. She has always been passionate about commercial fiction and commissions broadly, from hilarious romcoms to twisty psychological thrillers, sweeping historical sagas to cosy crime and everything in between. She is keen to publish more underrepresented voices and looks forward to welcoming new authors to the Avon family.
Maddie Wilson
EditorMaddie has over five years of editorial experience in the publishing industry behind her and when she’s not editing, she can usually be found with a book in hand and a cat on her lap reading anything pacey and plot driven! Maddie reads widely across genres and is passionate about all areas of commercial fiction, so she is interested in any new books – crime, romance, fantasy and anything in between. She is particularly passionate about books that champion complex characters with strong voices and real-world battles, that feel so true to life they leap off the page.
Jess Zahra
Editorial AssistantBefore landing her first editorial role at Summersdale, Jess worked on the front lines of publishing as a bookseller (and yes, customers do say the weirdest things in bookshops!), wrote for the Society of Young Publishers InPrint Magazine and finished her degree. During this time, she developed a strong interest in supporting publishing hopefuls and writers living with chronic illness and hopes to help embed accessibility in the future of the industry. Avon marks her first foray into fiction and she’s already having the time of her life!
Emily Hall
Marketing Manager This is Emily’s first role in the publishing industry, having moved between marketing agencies and the charity sector. She has a wealth of experience in influencer and digital marketing, and loves transferring that knowledge over to the publishing sector!
Like most people in the publishing World, Emily has a genuine love for books and all things storytelling, having completed an English Literature degree, and a Masters degree in Journalism.
She lives in Brighton, where she enjoys writing poetry and sitting by the beach to finish the draft of her first novel!
Katie Buckley
Key Account ManagerKatie describes herself as a reader before she’s anything else – she grew up with a librarian as a mother in a house full of books. Before working in sales, Katie spent almost a decade working in restaurants. When she’s not reading or pressing the latest Avon title into someone’s hands, she can be found eating her way around
Jessica Whitehead
Marketing and Publicity AssistantHaving studied a BA in English and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Writing: Scriptwriting, Jessie has always been a lover of reading and stories – particularly romance, thrillers and historical fiction. Marketing encompasses her passions altogether, combining her love of writing, photography and filmmaking. When she’s not working, she’s usually writing, listening to music, traveling or reading her way through her ever-growing book collection!