Bloomsbury Lifestyle has made two appointments to newly created roles to expand its commissioning.
Grace Paul, former content and creative manager at Dishoom, has been appointed editorial director, and within the existing team, editor-in-chief Kitty Stogdon, who will report to Paul.
Paul began her editorial career at BBC Books before working at Headline and then Trapeze, including work on IP-style nonfiction. At that time she worked on books including Lagoman IP project that, according to the publisher, has become a global seller thanks to a large number of co-editions and rights agreements, Bletchley Park puzzles, A strange eye and Ordnance Surveyand with authors such as Bryony Gordon and Atticus.
She also had a stint as a freelancer, during which she collaborated with cookbook brands MOB and Two Chubby Cubs. Paul joins from Dishoom, where she was responsible for helping to create and deliver the Dishoom story across digital, print and product. Paul will focus on gift and lifestyle launches as well as developing new and existing brands.
Paul said: “After the last few years I have immersed myself in the world of hospitality and lifestyle with an emphasis on brand and value development and now feels like the right time to return to publishing. My goal is to publish quality gift and lifestyle books from a wide range of contributors. Having the chance to work on books for Bloomsbury Lifestyle, a list rich in heritage and quality, is an incredible opportunity – one you can’t say no to, and to be able to work with such a great team with Rowan Yapp at the helm is so exciting.
“I’ve enjoyed working at Dishoom, a company brimming with world-class creativity, kindness, and some truly amazing people (and lots of great food!). I would like to thank them for the opportunity to work on great progressive creative projects.”
Stogdon will focus on cooking titles and new voices. The publisher says she has “already demonstrated her keen eye for commissioning” with upcoming projects such as The Art of Friday Night Dinner by Eleanor Steafel and Creating seasons by Rosie Steer and “participated in the creation of new books” such as Breadsong by Kitty and Al Tait and Country by Melissa Thompson.
Rowan Yapp, publisher of Bloomsbury Lifestyle, said: “I am delighted to be developing the reach of the Lifestyle commissioning team to support our growth strategy. Grace’s flair for books that cover both lifestyle and cooking are second to none, as are her instincts for good ideas and how to turn them into books.
“Her career and recent experience at Dishoom gives her insight into the evolution of the brand. We’re thrilled to have Grace and her can-do attitude take part in this exciting new phase of Bloomsbury Lifestyle. Kitty has great taste and a real sense of design and I look forward to seeing how this will impact her commissioning. Our strong team spirit and commissioning flair will make us even more than the sum of our parts.”