Canelo
Keshini Naidoo, Executive Publisher, Hera, Canelo
I commission across the breadth of commercial fiction and love a varied range of genres; from wartime saga fiction to gritty urban thrillers, contemporary issue-led bookclub reads and dark serial killer thrillers, heartwarming romances and psychological thrillers to make the reader gasp, I am always looking for a book that readers just can’t put down.
I am the Executive Editor and Co-founder of Hera. I have over twenty years experience in the publishing industry, starting as a bookseller and then as a buyer for direct to consumer sales channels, before moving to editorial roles at Big 5 publishers as well as literary agencies. I have worked with a number of authors in my career, including Angela Marsons, Scott Mariani, Jacqui Rose, Mhairi McFarlane and Trisha Ashley.
I co-founded Hera in 2017, with the mission of creating a publisher with the guiding principle of being ‘unashamedly commercial, always inclusive’, and spotlighting the voices of marginalised authors writing in commercial spaces. Hera was acquired by Canelo in 2021.
A book I’m proud of…
I am proud of all the books Hera have published but have a special fondness for Bollywood Wives by Alex Khan – as the inaugural title on the Hera list back in 2019, this spicy, page-turning blockbuster women’s fiction read is Jackie Collins reimagined into the world of Bollywood, perfectly encapsulating Hera’s inclusive, commercial mission from the beginning of the list.
A book I wish I’d published…
I would have loved to publish Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, a thoughtful and complex bookclub novel that couples the exploration of racial dynamics in a modern society with sparkling dialogue and a page-turning plot.