Founder and owner of Jacaranda Books, Valerie Brandes chimes in from London to share her experiences in the very rocky world of publishing. After moving from the USA to England and graduating with a Masters degree in her forties with two kids, she landed a job as a receptionist at a local publishing house. She quickly moved up and out to establish her own mission driven publishing company, committed to publishing ground-breaking writing with a dedication to creating space on the bookshelf for diverse idea and writers. 

In the past 7 years since inception, Jacaranda Books has become an award winning independent publisher of award winning adult fiction, non-fiction and YA. Their book offerings center around the voices and experiences of Black people, people of color, women and other underrepresented voices.