I have worked within publishing for over 20 years. With a degree in Economics and Politics from SOAS and an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, I originally started out in Trade publishing at Pan Macmillan, then moved over to work in the humanities and social sciences at Palgrave Macmillan.

In 2005 I moved again to work as Publisher at Nature Publishing Group overseeing a large portfolio of STEM journals and continued as Editorial Director overseeing a €60 million portfolio under Springer Nature until 2021 when I decided to join Bloomsbury.

I have experience of running a large and expanding global content portfolio, experience of both academic and professional markets, book and born digital products, a collaborative, consultative and decisive leadership style, experience of international markets (including China and India), mergers and acquisitions and proven commercial ability and fiscal responsibility.

I am currently responsible for a team of over 100 editorial staff working across the academic and professional lists at Bloomsbury. I have a clear remit for strategic growth and development of the lists building on the ethos and culture of entrepreneurship and ambition Bloomsbury is known for.

I aim to embed this growth in meaningful deliverables across all facets of the business to ensure we amplify the voices of all authors across the subjects we publish in and deliver value and benefits for our audiences starting from school all the way through a lifelong journey of learning and discovery.

DESIblitz Arts and the Literature Festival are fantastic platforms to amplify and increase the diversity of voices within the literature space and encourage discussion and debate and how to create meaningful change within the publishing industry. This ties in with Bloomsbury’s own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion action plan that seeks to represent the world we live in and give a platform for authors of all voices from all backgrounds. This synergy in our values is the reason why I am delighted to be an Ambassador for DESIblitz Arts and especially the Literature Festival.

Pooja was part of the DESIblitz Literature Festival in 2023 and featured in the event What Publishers Are Looking For on Monday, October 23, 2023.

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