PCCS Books

Peter Sanders (1951–2022) – Director

Pete worked as a volunteer counsellor for ‘Off The Record’ in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the early 1970s when he was a psychology undergraduate. This experience, and a full time Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling at the University of Aston in Birmingham in 1974/5, set him on his subsequent career as a counsellor, trainer and supervisor. During this time he was the course leader on three BACP recognised courses and was centrally involved in establishing and running the BACP Trainer Accreditation Scheme.

In 1993 he founded PCCS Training and PCCS Books in Manchester with his wife Maggie while continuing to work as a counsellor, trainer and supervisor until 2005.  As the publishing side of their business took over, Pete did most pre-production jobs from editing to typesetting. Along the way he wrote, co-wrote or edited 15 books, and dedicated the rest of his time to the demedicalisation of distress, understanding that mental health services are in urgent need of reformation. He was a Trustee of the Soteria Network, UK.

Maggie Taylor-Sanders – Director

Maggie is co-founder and co-owner of PCCS Books. In 1993, when the idea occurred to her and her co-founder, Pete Sanders, that setting up a publishing company might be light relief from the daily grind, being of an adventurous frame of mind, she jumped at the chance.

Happily fortune did favour the brave on this occasion. Working on a need-to-know basis she discovered the jobs that needed doing in order to get books from Pete’s head into buyers hands, and set about either doing them or finding someone who could. She discovered that in spite of being an English teacher where words were familiar, there was a bit more to perfection in the publishing world. And while that elusive goal was not quite just round the corner, she set about the task with the optimism of the naive.

Now, having done just about everything in the business at some point in its history, she is taking a back seat, but her hands are still hovering over the steering wheel, even if she is looking in a different direction.

Sam Taylor – Business Director

Sam joined PCCS Books in 2014 to work on the technical, book-production side of things. Having learned more about the day-to-day running of the company he took over as Business Director in 2016, and is now responsible for general company operations, our business relationships and all things financial.

After a varied academic career studying philosophy and cultural criticism at Cardiff University, and then Law and Political Justice at Birkbeck, Sam worked with the RIBA in London for nearly 10 years doing architectural recruitment.

Having decided it was time for something completely different Sam moved to Cornwall a few years ago and spends most of his spare time, and money, building an eco-house in Helston.

Hannah Kenner – Commissioning Editor

Hannah is PCCS Books’ Commissioning Editor, which means she talent spots and commissions new authors, reads submitted manuscripts, and nurtures authors to get their books into publishable form and then into print. Hannah joined PCCS in 2024 and is thrilled to find a home in an independent publishing company with person-centred values.

Hannah has more years than she dares to count of experience as an editor and is also a counsellor based in London.

Katie Moffat – Communications Manager

Katie joined PCCS Books in November 2016 as the Communications Manager. She works in collaboration with the PCCS team and our authors to promote our publications. If you have any queries regarding PR, sales opportunities, inspection copies and events then please get in touch with her.

Previously she worked in bookselling and the publishing industry for over 25 years. Her experience includes sales and marketing roles at Waterstones, Hodder and Stoughton and HarperCollins. Latterly, she worked at Wiley in marketing, publicity and brand management.

Katie is also a counsellor based in Edinburgh.

Di English - Administrator

Hi I’m Di English and I’ve worked for PCCS Books since 2008. I’m the membership administrator for WAPCEPC. I’m also involved in keeping membership tags on Asylum Magazine. I take bookings for conferences or events for PCCS Books. My work for PCCS Books is varied. I help with book referencing, name indexing etc. and generally undertake jobs that no-one else wants to do! 😊

I love to travel but I’m also happy walking the ways of Herefordshire. My greatest love is needlework. I make soft furnishings, clothes and wallhangings. I also knit and crochet.

Jen Kennedy – Publishing Assistant

Jen joined the PCCS Books team in October 2023. She is responsible for providing sales and marketing support, eBook production and distribution, stock management, contracts and royalties. 

Previously Jen worked in the book publishing industry for Bloomsbury and Penguin Random House, after which she trained as a primary school teacher.

She now lives in Cornwall and enjoys spending sunny days on the beach with her family and their whippet.