HopeRoad was founded in 2010 by Rosemarie Hudson, who has always wanted to encourage, mentor and publish exciting new authors. Her emphasis has been to promote writing from and about Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, many in translation for the first time, and HopeRoad is now well known within the industry as a publisher of previously untold stories – superb stories in themselves, which also feature themes of identity, cultural stereotyping, disability and injustice.

Rosemarie was joined in her venture in 2019 by Pete Ayrton, founder of the independent publisher Serpent’s Tail. Pete is the editor of HopeRoad’s imprint, Small Axes, which published the 2025 International Booker Prize shortlist title, Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated by Helen Stevenson.