Victoria Barnsley

Who is Victoria Barnsley?

Victoria Barnsley, The Hon. Mrs Howard OBE is a British businesswoman and entrepreneur. She founded the publishing house Fourth Estate 1984-2000 and from 2000-2013 was the UK CEO of HarperCollins. At HarperCollins, Barnsley was responsible for guiding the heritage British publishing brand, founded by William Collins in Glasgow in 1819, to great heights during her 13 year tenure. Twice voted Publisher of the Year, most recently in 2012, and winning the Man Booker Prize on several occasions, most notably scoring a historic double with Hilary Mantel winning for both "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up The Bodies" - the first two books in a trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.

A former trustee of the Tate, Barnsley has held various high profile publishing industry roles including President of the Publishers Association and Chair of World Book Night.

Barnsley is the daughter of Thomas E. Barnsley, who was also awarded an OBE and his wife Margaret Gwyneth Barnsley. She was educated at Loughborough High School, Beech Lawn Tutorial College, Edinburgh University, University College, London and the University of York. Since 1992 she has been married to The Hon. Nicholas Howard, son of the cross-bench life peer George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe. They have one daughter. In January 2009 Barnsley was awarded an OBE for services to literature.