Laura Hackett: The Literary Editor Shaping British Books Journalism

Laura Hackett is a British-Irish journalist editor literary critic and books editor from County Down Ireland who currently serves as Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and The Sunday Times two of the most widely read and most respected newspapers in the United Kingdom. She studied English Literature at the University of Oxford where she won the prestigious Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize and later completed a Master of Studies degree in English 1550 to 1700 at Oxford. During her undergraduate years she wrote for and edited the Oxford Review of Books and was awarded Student Critic of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme a recognition that signalled from the very beginning of her career that she was someone whose critical voice deserved a serious national audience. She joined The Sunday Times as assistant books editor in September 2021 and was promoted to Deputy Literary Editor following the appointment of Johanna Thomas-Corr as literary editor in late 2022. She is also a judge on the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction one of the more distinctive and enjoyable prizes in British literary culture and has reviewed books across an extraordinary range of genres from Renaissance literature to romantasy to Irish fiction to contemporary memoir. Her career represents a genuinely exciting presence in British books journalism at a moment when the field is navigating significant change in how readers discover and engage with literature.

Quick facts: Laura Hackett

 

Laura Hackett: A Voice That Shapes How Britain Reads

What makes Laura Hackett significant in the landscape of British books journalism is not simply the institutional position she holds at The Times and Sunday Times but the quality and range of the critical voice she brings to that position. She is equally comfortable writing about Rebecca Yarros romantasy phenomenon staying up half the night to finish Onyx Storm and filing a review that captures why the genre has captured millions of readers as she is discussing the legacy of Michael Longley or the complexities of Sally Rooney’s place in contemporary fiction. That range from high literary culture to popular genre fiction and the ability to write about both with equal intelligence and enthusiasm is genuinely rare in British literary journalism where critics often plant their flags in one territory and defend it from everything outside it. Her willingness to engage seriously with whatever readers are actually reading and thinking about rather than simply what the literary establishment has decided they should be reading is one of the qualities that makes her voice feel current and trustworthy to a broad audience.

Early Life and Background of Laura Hackett

Laura Hackett comes from County Down in Ireland a place with a rich literary and cultural heritage that clearly fed the deep passion for Irish literature that she has described as one of her central intellectual interests. Growing up in County Down gave her a grounding in Irish language culture and storytelling traditions that have remained important threads in her critical thinking throughout her career. She has written about Irish literature with the particular authority that comes from genuine cultural proximity rather than scholarly distance and her interest in the subject extends beyond purely literary questions to encompass the broader cultural and historical dimensions of what Irish writing has been trying to say across different eras and in different registers. That Irish background combined with her English Literature education at Oxford gives her a dual perspective on the British literary tradition that is more complex and more interesting than the perspective of someone who grew up entirely within the mainstream of English cultural life.

Academic Journey and Education

Laura Hackett’s academic journey is one of the more impressive in recent British books journalism. She read English Literature at the University of Oxford where she won the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize one of the most prestigious undergraduate prizes in English Literature at the university recognising excellence in Shakespeare scholarship. Alongside her undergraduate studies she wrote for and edited the Oxford Review of Books developing her critical voice through the practical discipline of writing and editing to a deadline for a real readership. She was awarded Student Critic of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme during this period a national recognition of her critical ability that was unusual for an undergraduate writer. She then stayed at Oxford to complete a Master of Studies degree in English 1550 to 1700 which focused on the Renaissance period and during which she worked on theorising early modern theatre and undertook archival work including cataloguing the Wilfred Owen archive in the Bodleian Library. She also worked as a part-time archivist at Brasenose College during her Masters giving her a practical engagement with the physical reality of literary history alongside the theoretical work of her degree. That combination of prize-winning undergraduate study advanced postgraduate specialisation archival experience and early journalism is an unusually thorough preparation for a career in books journalism.

Laura Hackett’s Entry Into Books Journalism

Laura Hackett’s journalism career began before she had even completed her academic studies at Oxford. She wrote for and edited the Oxford Review of Books during her undergraduate years and the recognition she received from the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme as Student Critic of the Year gave her early national visibility. She subsequently wrote for the Times Literary Supplement the BBC and Review31 establishing a freelance portfolio before joining The Sunday Times as assistant books editor in September 2021. She also had a connection to Brasenose College Oxford and Eurofins as part of her varied professional experience before settling fully into the books journalism career that has defined her public identity. Her early writing interests as described in her Lucy Writers Platform profile included Irish literature female memoirs writing on maternity and motherhood and Renaissance literature a combination that reflects both the depth of her academic formation and the personal interests that have shaped what she finds genuinely worth reading and writing about.

Laura Hackett’s Role at The Sunday Times

Laura Hackett joined The Sunday Times in September 2021 as assistant books editor during the tenure of Andrew Holgate as literary editor. When Johanna Thomas-Corr was appointed as literary editor in late 2022 to begin in January 2023 Hackett was promoted to deputy literary editor a recognition of the quality and value of the contribution she had already made in just over a year. Thomas-Corr herself described Hackett warmly in her announcement tweet expressing delight at editing the books section alongside her and expressing the shared ambition to produce the most spirited the most interesting and the most authoritative books section in British journalism. As Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor Hackett holds responsibility that extends across both The Times and The Sunday Times two of the most significant platforms for book coverage in the country. Her role involves commissioning reviews selecting coverage shaping which books get attention from which critics and writing her own reviews and critical pieces across a wide range of genres and subjects. The fiction editor dimension of her role reflects a particular responsibility for one of the most important and most contested categories in book coverage where decisions about which novels deserve serious critical attention have genuine consequences for the authors careers and the reading public’s engagement with contemporary fiction.

Laura Hackett’s Editorial Philosophy and Approach

The editorial philosophy that runs through Laura Hackett’s work at The Times and Sunday Times is most clearly expressed in the range of what she covers and the consistency of the critical seriousness she brings to all of it. She has reviewed Rebecca Yarros romantasy and described staying up half the night to finish Onyx Storm bringing genuine enthusiasm to a genre that serious literary journalism sometimes dismisses without proper engagement. She has written about Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo and the broader question of Rooney’s place as the chronicler of a generation. She has covered Jon Sopel on Britishness with evident critical independence describing his book in terms that were not flattering. She has discussed the romantasy phenomenon as a genuine cultural development worth taking seriously rather than as a guilty pleasure to be condescended to. And through the fortnightly glimpse into the private reading lives of the Times books team she has helped create a more personal and human face for serious literary journalism of the kind that gives readers a sense of the people behind the coverage rather than simply the coverage itself.

Laura Hackett’s Most Notable Work and Contributions

Among the most notable contributions Laura Hackett has made to British books journalism since joining The Sunday Times are her promotion to deputy literary editor a significant institutional recognition of her value to one of the country’s most important books sections her role as judge on the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction one of the most distinctive and enjoyable awards in British literary culture and her writing across a genuinely wide range of subjects from romantasy to Renaissance literature to Irish fiction to contemporary memoir. She has appeared as a guest on The Story podcast from The Times discussing Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo and the broader question of Rooney’s literary significance and she participated in a panel at a major literary event discussing the top one hundred bestselling books across the past fifty years with Sunday Times literary editor Johanna Thomas-Corr and chaired by Kate Mosse. Her Twitter presence under the handle HackettLaura gives her additional platform for sharing critical perspectives and engaging with the wider literary community between pieces and she has used it to respond to major literary events including the death of the poet Michael Longley with genuine personal feeling.

How Laura Hackett Has Influenced British Books Culture

Laura Hackett’s influence on British books culture operates primarily through the platform of The Times and Sunday Times which between them represent one of the most significant combined audiences for book coverage in the country. Her decisions about which books to cover which critics to commission for which subjects and what kind of tone and ambition to bring to that coverage shape the reading choices and reading conversations of a substantial portion of the British book reading public. Her willingness to take romantasy and popular genre fiction as seriously as literary fiction and to write about both with the same quality of critical attention reflects a democratic and genuine approach to books journalism that is particularly valuable in a moment when the boundaries between literary and popular fiction are more porous than they have ever been. Her Irish background and deep engagement with Irish literature also bring a perspective to the books section that extends its reach and relevance beyond the purely English literary tradition.

Life Outside the Literary World

Away from her professional work Laura Hackett maintains an Instagram presence under the handle lauracanthackett with around a thousand followers and a Twitter presence under HackettLaura where she engages with books journalism literary events and cultural commentary in ways that give her audience a genuine sense of who she is beyond the institutional role she holds at The Times and Sunday Times. She has described on social media the pleasure of arriving in the office to find piles of books to open at the start of a new year a small detail that captures something real about the genuine enthusiasm for books that underpins her professional life. Her interests in Irish literature female memoirs writing on maternity and motherhood and Renaissance literature described in her earliest public writing profile give a picture of someone whose reading life extends in genuinely diverse directions across different periods genres and cultural traditions. She is based in London where the majority of British books journalism life is concentrated.

Laura Hackett’s Values and Professional Philosophy

The values that run most consistently through Laura Hackett’s work are intellectual seriousness democratic range and genuine personal enthusiasm for the act of reading itself. She brings real critical rigour to serious literary fiction without using that rigour as a reason to dismiss or condescend to popular genres that millions of readers love. She brings genuine personal investment to her reviews whether she is defending a book she found extraordinary or questioning one she found disappointing and that personal investment is what gives her critical voice its distinctiveness and authority. Her academic background in Renaissance literature and archival work gives her a historical depth that informs her engagement with contemporary fiction without turning it into mere scholarly performance. And her Irish background gives her a critical perspective on British literary culture that is both engaged and slightly external a combination that often produces the most interesting and most useful kind of literary criticism.

Laura Hackett’s Impact on Books Journalism

Laura Hackett’s impact on books journalism at this stage of her career is most visible in the reputation she has built within the field in a relatively short time since joining The Sunday Times in 2021. She arrived with strong academic credentials a prize-winning undergraduate record at Oxford postgraduate specialisation and early freelance recognition and has converted those foundations into a genuinely authoritative presence at one of the country’s most important platforms for literary culture. Her promotion to deputy literary editor within roughly a year of joining reflects how quickly her colleagues and editors recognised the quality of what she brings. Her role as a judge on the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize places her among the institutional figures who shape recognition in British literary culture. And her public writing and commentary across Twitter and the books sections of The Times and Sunday Times gives her a visibility within the books journalism world that extends well beyond her institutional title.

Interesting Facts About Laura Hackett

A few things about Laura Hackett stand out when you look at her career and background closely. She comes from County Down in Ireland. She studied English Literature at Oxford and won the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize one of the university’s most prestigious undergraduate awards in the subject. She was named Student Critic of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme while still an undergraduate. She completed a Master of Studies degree in English 1550 to 1700 at Oxford focusing on Renaissance literature. She catalogued the Wilfred Owen archive in the Bodleian Library during her postgraduate studies. She worked as a part-time archivist at Brasenose College Oxford alongside her Masters. She joined The Sunday Times as assistant books editor in September 2021. She was promoted to Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and Sunday Times following the appointment of Johanna Thomas-Corr as literary editor in late 2022. She is a judge on the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. And she stayed up half the night reading Rebecca Yarros’s Onyx Storm before filing her review a detail that captures something genuine about who she is as a reader.

Where Is Laura Hackett Today?

As of 2026 Laura Hackett continues to serve as Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and Sunday Times based in London. She continues to write reviews commission critics shape coverage and engage with the wider British literary culture through her role at News UK and through her presence on social media and podcast appearances. The Times and Sunday Times books sections under her and Johanna Thomas-Corr’s joint leadership continue to be among the most significant platforms for books coverage in the country and her particular contribution as Fiction Editor and as a critic with genuine range across literary and popular fiction gives the section a breadth and a democratic seriousness that serves its readership well. She continues to be active as a judge in the literary awards world and her Twitter presence keeps her engaged with the conversations and controversies that make British books culture lively and contested in the best possible way.

FAQS About Laura Hackett

Who is Laura Hackett?
She is a British-Irish literary journalist and editor from County Down Ireland who serves as Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and Sunday Times. She studied English Literature at Oxford won the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize and was named Student Critic of the Year by the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme.

What does Laura Hackett do at The Sunday Times?
She serves as Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and Sunday Times having been promoted to that role in late 2022 following the appointment of Johanna Thomas-Corr as literary editor. She commissions reviews writes criticism and shapes books coverage across both titles.

Where did Laura Hackett study?
She studied English Literature at the University of Oxford where she won the Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize and later completed a Master of Studies degree in English 1550 to 1700 at Oxford. She also worked as a part-time archivist at Brasenose College and catalogued the Wilfred Owen archive in the Bodleian Library.

What prizes does Laura Hackett judge?
She is a judge on the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction one of the most distinctive awards in British literary culture which celebrates the best comic writing published in the UK each year.

When did Laura Hackett join The Sunday Times?
She joined as assistant books editor in September 2021 and was promoted to Deputy Literary Editor and Fiction Editor of The Times and Sunday Times in late 2022 following the appointment of Johanna Thomas-Corr as literary editor.

Final Thoughts

Laura Hackett’s career is still in its early stages in the sense that she is clearly a person of considerable gifts who is only beginning to build the full body of work and institutional influence that her abilities and her position make possible. She arrived at The Sunday Times with better academic credentials than most books journalists of any generation prize-winning Shakespeare scholarship postgraduate specialisation in Renaissance literature and archival work in the Bodleian and she has converted those foundations into a critical voice that is both intellectually serious and genuinely accessible to a broad readership. Her range across romantasy and Renaissance poetry Sally Rooney and Irish memoirs reflects a reader whose genuine curiosity is not bounded by genre or period and that genuine curiosity is the most valuable thing any books journalist can bring to their work because it is the quality that readers recognise and trust. Whatever she goes on to do from the platform she has built at The Times and Sunday Times the critical intelligence and the personal enthusiasm for reading that have defined her work so far suggest someone who will continue to shape how Britain engages with its literary culture for a long time to come.