DK LIFE
Ruth O'Rourke, Editorial Director, Gardening, DK Life
I’m passionate about publishing the very best gardening and nature books and am incredibly proud of our world-leading list. Books that excite me have one thing in common: celebrating the joy that being outside in nature brings.
I’m looking for books that inspire readers to abandon their screens – whether that’s encouraging them to get growing in the garden or wondering at wildlife in the great outdoors – and authors who can give would-be gardeners the confidence to begin, experts who show the green-fingered new ways or reasons to garden, and diverse voices that bring a fresh perspective on the natural world. Whether practical guides, memoirs, or personal accounts with a wellbeing, ecological, or cultural angle, I’m looking for creative thinkers who are passionate about nature.
A book I'm proud of...
I'm proud to have published Dame Mary Berry's first gardening book, My Gardening Life. It’s a unique blend of personal memoir and canny advice to help the reader. Happily, it was also an instant Sunday Times bestseller.
A book I wish I'd published...
A Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing is garden writing at its absolute best: enchanting, thoughtful, and brilliantly passionate. It seals my belief that gardening is fundamentally human.
