Caroline Sanderson

Caroline Sanderson is a non-fiction writer, editor and books journalist. Based in the Cotswolds, she regularly interviews writers on stage, on the page, and for podcasts.

Caroline is well-known in the book trade and beyond for her author profiles and her non-fiction previews for The Bookseller which she has compiled each month for over 20 years. She has been among the earliest champions during this time of such stellar non-fiction debuts as H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald; East West Street by Philippe Sands; Lean in 15 by Joe Wicks; Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe and Educated by Tara Westover.

She also writes reviews, features and interviews for a wide variety of other publications including The Express, Mslexia, The Observer and The Mail on Sunday.

Caroline has written six non-fiction books of her own, including A Rambling Fancy: In the Footsteps of Jane Austen and Someone Like Adele, a biography of the superstar singer. Her memoir – Listen With Father: How I Learned to Love Classical Music – will be published by Unbound in July 2025.

Programme Director of Stroud Book Festival, Caroline regularly chairs events at book festivals and in bookshops, mostly recently for Hay Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, and Cheltenham Literature Festival; and for Waterstones, Daunts and Toppings.

Caroline is also an experienced broadcaster and public speaker. She can regularly be heard on BBC Radio Gloucestershire talking about books, and has made many other television and radio appearances, including BBC Radio 4’s Open Book and Front Row, and even a live interview on Breakfast TV in Poland.

Caroline has judged many book prizes, including categories at the British Book Awards. She currently judges both the Publishers’ Publicity Circle’s (PPC) quarterly awards, and chairs the judging for the PPC annual awards.

In 2022, she served as chair of the 2022 Judges for the prestigious Baillie Gifford Prize, the UK’s premier prize for non-fiction.

Caroline is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and has led writing skills workshops in a variety of NHS workplace contexts, including for Barts Hospital and the Royal College of Nursing. From 2022-204 she was RLF Writer in Residence at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

She has also interviewed writers including Joanna Trollope, Trish Cooke and Claire Harman for the RLF podcast.