Meet the Team

Alex is a seasoned leader with extensive experience in small and medium-sized businesses. As Managing Director of The Book Guild and its parent company, Troubador Publishing, Alex collaborates closely with both teams to drive business growth, enhance internal processes, and expand opportunities for self-published authors. Passionate about innovation, Alex is always looking for new technologies or processes that improve efficiency and streamline operations to give our authors the best possible publishing experience. Outside of work, Alex enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, exploring the outdoors and supporting Leicester City FC.

Chloe studied English Literature at Cardiff University. After graduating, she worked at Osprey Publishing (part of Bloomsbury) in Oxford, where she performed a variety of roles in publishing administration and editorial. In 2017, she joined Pan Macmillan’s Editorial Management department, working on a variety of fiction and non-fiction. Authors she has worked with include Louis Theroux, Adam Kay, Elizabeth Macneal, The Secret Barrister, David Nott, Toby Wilkinson and Megan Hunter. Chloe has many years of experience working alongside authors and across departments to see books through to successful publication.

Rosie is a seasoned publishing professional with extensive experience at The Book Guild and its parent company, Troubador Publishing. As Publishing Manager, she oversees the selection and production of our titles in collaboration with our in-house team of publishing experts. Her strategic vision and expertise ensure that every book meets the highest standards of quality and market appeal. In addition to shaping the publishing portfolio, Rosie heads the in-house editorial team, upholding the exceptional editorial standards that our authors trust and rely on. She has a passion for creativity and a commitment to collaborating with authors, bringing our outstanding books to life.

Chelsea heads the busy Production Department, which takes authors from final manuscript submission to printed book. With her vast book production experience, she ensures that production staff are supported, timescales and high production standards are met, and that customer service is delivered. Chelsea is an experienced cover designer and loves creating across the wide range of genres she works on, one of her favourite aspects of her role. Chelsea is also one of our trained Mental Health First Aiders, who work together to ensure that staff always have someone to talk to, arrange activities to promote the importance of wellbeing in the workplace and ensure that staff wellbeing is kept firmly on the agenda.

Fern coordinates and executes the majority of the typesetting work that we execute in-house for our author's books. She also regularly advises those who are producing printed books on all aspects of the production process, including typesetting, cover design and printing. Fern enjoys helping authors bring their hard work to life and loves seeing the beautiful books when they arrive from the printer.

Carolina graduated with a first-class degree in Creative Writing and Journalism and, soon after, started her publishing journey as an intern for Indie Books. In the past, she also managed an independent bookshop, curating varied stock alongside delivering excellent customer service to her local community. As a Production Controller, she guides her authors through the production process as swiftly and smoothly as possible. Carolina enjoys a gritty memoir and getting her hands stuck in clay in her spare time.

Before joining the company in 2017, Jonathan worked for more than 30 years in many different areas of the book industry. Starting in book retailing, where he was a book buyer and bookshop manager for some of the largest London bookshops, he then moved over to publishing, where he has worked for big-name publishers such as Oxford University Press, Chrysalis Books, Anova Books and Phaidon. He has worked in the UK book trade, spent some time in International sales, and lived for a number of years overseas while continuing to work in publishing. Jonathan has extensive knowledge of all aspects of book publishing and retailing and enjoys nothing better than talking about all aspects of book sales and marketing.

Sophie works as part of the busy publicity team, drafting press releases and creating bespoke campaigns, as well as liaising with journalists daily to secure as much coverage as we can for our authors. Her love of the written word has also propelled her into her writing career, as she publishes romance books in the American market.

Emily works in the publicity department, planning and sending out campaigns, and acting as the liaison between the author and our media network. Having started at Troubador as a Customer Service Assistant, Emily has a friendly and helpful attitude and is committed to giving her authors a high level of customer service. Emily loves watching films and uses her experience of freelance journalism to draft enticing press releases.

Ella studied English and Creative Writing at Birmingham University. After graduating, she interned at Bounce Sales and Marketing (representatives of over forty independent children’s publishers) and gained valuable industry experience working as a bookseller at Waterstones. Having joined Troubador, and is usually the first point of contact for new authors discovering our self-publishing services.In her spare time, she enjoys performing, reading and socialising with friends.

Megan heads our Digital Department, which handles ebook and audiobook services. She has held various roles during her time at Troubador and throughout the years has enjoyed being able to develop and launch new services for our authors, such as our audiobook production and marketing, and advise authors at events like the London Book Fair and the Self-Publishing Conference. Megan is one of our Mental Health First Aiders, there for members of our staff to talk to, and to arrange activities to help promote the importance of wellbeing.

Andrea is our first point of contact for those publishing an ebook as well as a printed book, and she particularly enjoys working with authors to help make their ebooks as discoverable as possible. She enjoys working with authors to create an industry-standard ebook which is compatible with all retailers' systems. She brings particular knowledge of metadata to the Digital Department and a knowledge of how to ensure that a product has detailed, accurate metadata to maximise ebook sales. Andrea also works on audiobook production, helping to match an author with the perfect narrator for their title.

Stephanie coordinates our ebook and audiobook marketing services, as well as being a first port of call for authors looking to publish an ebook with Troubador. She has been a speaker on ebooks and ebook marketing at the Self-Publishing Conference, has advised authors on ebooks at the London Book Fair, and has a detailed knowledge of all aspects of the ebook and audiobook publishing process. She enjoys taking new authors through the ebook publishing and marketing process, and is very happy when an ebook receives great reviews! In her spare time, Stephanie is an avid reader and keen swimmer.

Lauren joined Troubador in April 2021 after achieving a first-class degree in English Language and Spanish. She has spent two years on the Society of Young Publishers' UK committee. As Assistant Editorial Manager, she coordinates all our editorial work, as well as copy-editing and proofreading manuscripts herself. She enjoys solving editorial queries and talking about all things editorial at our company events. In her spare time, Lauren likes to review books on her Bookstagram account and is a keen netball and rounders player.

With over a decade of publishing and project-management experience, Hannah has helped to bring all kinds of books to life, including children's picture books, fiction novels, coffee-table tomes, self-help guides and more. At Troubador, Hannah splits her time between editorial (undertaking copy-edits and proofreads) and illustration (working with artists and authors to achieve beautiful illustrations). Outside work, Hannah enjoys family time, walking and (predictably) reading… or as much as four children allow!

Issy joined whilst finishing her Masters in English Literary Studies, having achieved a first-class degree in English Literature and German. As well as her studies, Issy was Editor for Cake Magazine, a literary publication run by students in Lancaster University's English and Creative Writing Department, which annually publishes creative and critical pieces produced by both students and published writers. In her spare time, she plays netball and watches netball (basically anything netball related, she'll be there…) and enjoy reading, with a particular love of historical fiction.

Whilst studying English Literature at the University of Liverpool, Madeleine also worked as a Publishing Assistant at Liverpool University Press, where she learnt the fundamentals of the publishing process. Upon graduating, she then participated in a marketing and publicity internship at Transworld, an imprint of Penguin Random House. As an Editorial Assistant, Madeleine copyedits and proofreads all texts that come her way. In her spare time, you'll find her either in a coffee shop or workout class.

Kirsty joined The Book Guild in March 2025 as our Customer Services Assistant, so she will be the friendly voice at the end of the phone. She studied Business and Sociology at the University of Sheffield. She has over 8 years of customer service experience, refined in the wedding and events industry. In Kirsty’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her partner and being a cool cat mom, pretending she can run. She also likes swimming when she gets the opportunity. Kirsty still gets to show her creative side on weekends when she creates floral wedding designs, as she is a qualified florist.

Julia has over 20 years of experience working in accounts and payroll departments, working across many different sectors. Her role at The Book Guild is to support all departments and the company directors, dealing with all aspects of the accounts, from raising invoices to allocating payments.