Gaby Wood, Books, Debrett's 500 2016, People of Influence

Gaby Wood

Literary Director, Booker Prize Foundation

Gaby Wood left her role as head of books at the Daily Telegraph in 2015 to take up her new appointment as literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation, delivering on its aim to identify the best contemporary fiction and promote it to a growing audience through the annual prize. Wood had acted as a judge for the Booker in 2011, and she sits on the juries of many other literary awards. She played a pivotal role in the Telegraph’s sponsorship of the Hay Festival and helped breathe new life into its literary coverage. She had previously worked for the Observer for 15 years, seven of which were spent in New York. Wood is the author of her own non-fiction work, Edison's Eve, a history of automata, and contributes to a wide range of publications as well as radio and television programmes, while continuing to write for the Telegraph.