About Us
Softwood Books was founded in 2017 by Maddy Glenn to answer a growing demand for high quality yet affordable publishing services. Since then, we have grown to be one of the most successful small businesses of its kind with nominations and awards from the Surrey Enterprise Awards, the Mid Suffolk & Babergh District Council Innovation Awards, and the Suffolk Small Business Awards.
In 2025, Softwood was announced the Self-Publishing Specialists of the Year in London and the South-East by the Prestige Awards, an accolade we've won every year since 2022.
Now located in Stowmarket, Suffolk (UK), the business provides professional editing, design, printing, distribution, and marketing services to authors, local businesses, and multinational companies. We're proud of the expertise we've assembled in our team of creatives, who work tirelessly to ensure all clients receive the best possible results whilst enjoying the highest standards of customer service.
Maddy Glenn
Founding Director
Meet Maddy, a dynamic force in the world of independent publishing.
As an established editor in the world of academic, classified, and commerical editing, she founded Softwood in 2017 to answer a growing need for personable, bespoke, and reliable independent publishing services.
Maddy knows first-hand the hard work and dedication it takes to bring a book to life, having published the third novel in The Dwelling Hunter series in 2025, whilst juggling the demands of a young family!
Her literary claim to fame is that she is related to Bram Stoker, the Irish author of Dracula.
Nathan James
Sales Director
Introducing Nathan, Sales Director and a seasoned professional in the world of digital communications. With over 20 years of experience, Nathan specialises in social media marketing, strategic implementation, and building strong client relationships. His leadership in overseeing and supporting publishing projects has earned him a reputation as a reliable, results-driven partner who understands both creative vision and commercial success.
Nathan is the proud owner of an extensive collection of P. G. Wodehouse editions, and can often be found browsing dusty second-hand shelves for that elusive title to add to his bookshelf.
Jude Gammer
Publishing Assistant
Jude joined Softwood in Spring 2025, bringing with her a wealth of administrative experience from previous roles at the University of Suffolk. With a passion for creative writing and a strong flair for project management, Jude plays a key role in supporting Softwood’s growing client base and ensuring projects run smoothly.
We’re delighted to benefit from her skills, organisation, and boundless enthusiasm for independent publishing.
Grace Atkinson
Marketing and Production Assistant
Grace looks after Softwood Books’ marketing clients, creating and implementing effective strategies that help authors stand out to both consumers and retailers. With a keen eye for design and a talent for shaping compelling narratives, Grace has supported a wide range of authors in building visibility, confidence, and momentum for their books. She graduated from Royal Holloway with a degree in English and Classics before joining the Softwood team in 2025. Combining creative flair with strategic thinking, Grace is passionate about ensuring every book she works on reaches the audience it deserves.
Holly Nicoll
Designer and Illustrator
Holly is an artist, illustrator, and social media content creator. She has a love of all things book-related and enjoys nothing more than giving a writer’s words visual representation through her artwork. A speciality of Holly’s is book edge painting, allowing her designs to turn any book into a special edition and collector’s item. Holly has run her own art business for several years and prides herself on working closely with clients to achieve their vision and the best possible final result.
As well as art and illustration, Holly has a background in acting and is a keen writer, having written a children’s book, along with several TV comedy scripts.
Jasmine Higgins
Designer & Sustainability Lead
As an illustrator and social media content designer, Jasmine is deeply committed to producing impactful visual content for books of every genre. With a Master's in Publishing and a Bachelor's in Fine Art, she has honed her expertise as both a publishing specialist and a versatile artist, continually expanding her impressive portfolio.
Jasmine is talented poet with two published anthologies of her own; Mermaid Lungs, and A Girl is a Shapeshifter.
Charlotte Harris
Editor & Designer
Charlotte has a wealth of experience with editorial and production projects, having guided fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and adult books to publication. Her English Literature degree provides a background for success in copy-editing and development editing, while honing her skills through a variety of freelance positions has given her a rare adaptability.
Beyond this, Charlotte lends her proven expertise to formatting and typesetting, copy writing, website content creation, ghost writing, and language editing, translated works across blogs, essay collections, and monographs, all while being a delight to work with!
Joanne Fu
Cover Designer
With a Bachelor's in Graphic Design, Joanne worked around small design gigs before finding her calling in book cover design. Gaining experience through initiative schemes with Penguin, HarperCollins, and DK, she went on to find commissions with Big Five and indie publishers.
She is enjoying continuing honing her experience in the industry and creating some wonderfully eye-catching covers for Softwood authors.
Wendy Mach
Designer
After completing her Masters degree in Publishing, Wendy made her start in the publishing industry as a freelance digital marketer and graphic designer before transitioning over to the world of book design where she found her true passion. Nothing makes her more happy than helping authors bring to life their manuscripts through great cover and layout design.
Wendy has worked with indie publishers and authors on books for all ages; as a designer, she is curious, communicative, and continuously learning.
Becca Errington
Editor
Becca joined Softwood in 2023 as an editor, having earned an undergraduate degree in English Literature and an MA in English. In addition to her academic credentials, Becca has a customer-service background, collaborating with clients in a professional and reassuring way to achieve their desired outcomes. She is enthusiastic about various forms of literature and values the unique perspective of each writer, prioritising their vision.
Becca also likes to write when she can, which enables her to appreciate the effort that authors put into their work.
Andy Deane
Editor
Andy is an East Anglian writer, editor, and actor, with a special fondness for all things speculative or philosophical. He has had pieces published in several magazines and journals, and has recently started writing for the stage.
As a poet and performer, he is particularly interested in ensuring that the client's style or 'voice' is maintained, while helping to polish their project to a high sheen.
Rachel Churcher
Editor
Rachel is a Suffolk-based author and editor. She has worked with authors, universities, technology companies and charities to produce fiction, magazine articles, teaching materials, and online content. Her dystopian series for young adults has won two international awards, and her 2023 standalone novel is a semi-finalist in the international Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Awards.
Reading and writing are her passions, and she specialises in working with authors to make sure their indie-published books are as good as they can be – while respecting and developing the author's original vision. Rachel is also co-founder of the UK's first fringe literary festival, Foreword Festival.