THIS WEEK
Careful curation of Hodder’s non-fiction list remains the key to solid growth
Under the focused stewardship of Kirty Topiwala and Anna Baty, Hodder Press’ plan for further success remains the continued championing of specialists
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Caroline Carpenter @carolinec1988
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hough Hodder & Stoughton unveiled its new narrative non-fiction list, Hodder Press, last year, its genesis goes back to 2021, when executive publisher Kirt Topiwala and editorial director Anna Bat published Vaxxers by Professor Sarah Gilbert and Dr Catherine Green. Released just nine months aſter its acquisition, the inside story of making the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine became an acclaimed bestseller. “It was an exciting title for us to work on by two women writing serious non-fiction,” says Bat, and it proved to be a catalyst too. “We had a lot of success with that, and we thought ‘we could be doing more of these tpes of books’ and started thinking about having a dedicated space for them.” Pitched as a highly selective list of expert-led non-fiction from distinctive voices, Hodder Press’ launch titles hit bookshelves earlier this year. The first of these, Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortalit
06 4th October 2024
KIRTY TOPIWALA AND ANNA BATY: AN EXCITING COLLABORATION
by Nobel Prize-winning biologist Venki Ramakrishnan, is currently shortlisted for the Royal Societ Trivedi Science Book Prize. When it comes to commissioning, Topiwala is drawing on her time working for the medical charit Wellcome—where she pivoted its book publishing into a trade-facing list and directed the Wellcome Book Prize—in terms of proactively approaching experts about writing for the press, as well as receiving submissions through the usual channels. She says: “That’s something we’ve done a lot of on Hodder Press; being very collaborative and really having that partnership with authors and agents.” One such case is the story behind Michael Morpurgo’s Spring, publishing on 20th March 2025, his first non-fiction book for adults in nearly 40 years. The start of a loose series focusing on the seasons (the other three books will be released over the next couple of years and already have yet-to-be-announced big
names atached to them), it came about when Topiwala pitched the project to his agent. “You start with the idea, and then it just snowballs into something so much bigger,” she says. “It’s turned out to be this lovely week-by-week diary of the season changing and what he’s observ- ing. It’s incredibly charming and joyful.” Similarly, next spring’s The Age of Diagnosis by Susan O’Sullivan, publishing on 17th April, originated from Topiwala following the Wellcome Prize-winning neurologist’s career for years and waiting for the right concept. “I really wanted to work with her, so I tested out a few different ideas. I planted the kernel of a book about diagnosis, but what she’s turned it into is well beyond the limits of my imagination.” The later title is a prime example of one of Hodder Press’ key principles—improving the representation of female writers in serious non- fiction. Topiwala states: “It is unbelievable that
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