Meet Our New Senior Editor, Rachel Winterbottom

Hi, I’m Rachel and I’m the new senior editor here at Gollancz. In my previous roles I’ve commissioned academic books for a university press and worked on Voyager’s SFF list. I’ve also been an editorial assistant for a newspaper aimed at people who attend cat shows, during which time I wrote a regular column that was unfortunately called ‘Through the Cat Flap with Rachel Winterbottom’ (it was very Sex and the City).

I’m originally from Manchester and moved to London last year, but I’ve also lived in exotic locations such as Pudsey and Wakefield. Before making the move to the Big Smoke, I completed a Masters in Publishing, which I largely used as an excuse to read as many science fiction and fantasy books as possible so I could write my dissertation on SFF imprints. I’ve been a huge fan of Gollancz for years, so being able to work on this incredible diverse list that’s filled with genre giants is (as clichéd as it sounds) a dream come true. I love anything from gritty and unique urban fantasy to sharp and terrifying contemporary horror, and just about any book that has characters that refuse to leave your thoughts even after you’ve closed the pages. Also, I’m a sucker for a book with an intelligent dog in (I blame Dean Koontz).

It’s only my first week, but so far I’ve discovered that if you have an IT problem, they will resolve it AND give you cake, and that @HachetteHawk is a real live hawk that is paraded around the roof garden to keep the pigeons away (and publishers, of course).

You can usually find me drinking Diet Coke while reading a good book, and on twitter @Frostycheeks (I really must get around to changing that handle).