Meet the Team
Co-founder (she/her)
Shannon Wibberley
Favourite book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Favourite trope: Forced proximity
Favourite reading snack: White chocolate cookies and tea
Co-founder (she/her)
Emma Leask
Favourite book: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Favourite trope: Found family
Favourite reading snack: Any kind of biscuit with a cuppa
About Shannon
​From a very young age, my family and I knew that my life would be surrounded by books. We never knew how this would happen but it was always there. They would buy me books every year for Christmas, I will never forget the time when I had spent the morning opening toy after toy but still had a breakdown at the fact none of the presents were books.
I have always had a love for romance and fantasy, I am such a hopeless romantic at heart but the first fantasy book/series I read was Need by Carrie Jones when I was about 10. At this age, I wasn’t quite familiar with the concept of a ‘series’ and unfortunately read the last book first, it was the only one in the school library so I rightly assumed it was a standalone. I was mortified when I found out there was three more books, this didn’t deter me and I still ended up loving the series and it still lives with me to this day. Thanks to my local library, I found The Trylle Series by Amanda Hocking and continued my young obsession with fantasy. Over my teen years I became more drawn to romance, Holly Bourne and Huntley Fitzpatrick shaped my life as a young girl and their books got me through the hardships of being a girl. It was in 2020 when I picked fantasy back up, everyone can probably guess what it was. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas left me with one hell of a book hangover, she made me fall in love with fantasy all over again.
When I started in publishing, I wanted to work in editorial, but who doesn’t? After a few years of experimenting with departments, I have found a love for marketing and acquisitions. They’re not as terrifying as editorial but just as enjoyable. My absolute dream in life is to work for Mills and Boons, I’m doing it for you, Nanna. I met Emma on our MA in Publishing course and we quickly decided to set up this press. Not only was I doing it for my degree, but I also wanted to be daring with it. People have always said I could set one up but I never had the guts to do it, we decided to take a chance and see what happens. I’m most excited about working with upcoming authors and providing them with a safe space to share their work, it can be very daunting to share your own work and I hope that Bitterleaf provides a safe place for escape.
About Emma
Reading has been a passion of mine since I was younger; I have strong memories of waking up at 6am on the weekends and reading in bed before my parents woke up! I used to adore Jacqueline Wilson's books, but my favourite book as a child was Goodnight Mister Tom. I used to read the book, then read it again, and again, and again... I slowly transitioned into fantasy being my favourite genre after reading The Trylle Trilogy when I was 12 (far too young) and properly got into fantasy in 2017 when I read Throne of Glass. This is still my favourite fantasy series of all time. My favourite authors now also include V.E. Schwab (especially the Shades of Magic series), S.A. Chakraborty, T.J. Klune, Marissa Meyer, and Samantha Shannon.
My career ambitions centre around the production department of publishing, as I have always been fascinated by the physical appearance of books. Whether it's a gorgeous cover with shiny foiling to catch readers' eyes, sprayed or stencilled edges, or even foiling on the hardback, I love seeing how a book can be made beautiful. I'm also an organisation addict, and would love to be working in the team that coordinates each aspect of the publishing process to ensure that the book reaches the readers' hands on time. As a detail-oriented person I am a stickler for good grammar so enjoy copy editing and line editing to make sure written pieces are crafted to perfection.
In setting up this press I am most excited to provide a space for writers to explore their craft for potentially the first time. I hope that we can not only facilitate their first steps to a life-long journey in writing, but that we can also act as a place that writers can feel safe to escape into their own fantasy worlds. In a time when we need a bit of magic in our lives more than ever, I hope that Bitterleaf Books can be that escapism for our writers and readers alike.