Valerie Brandes

Valerie Brandes is a British publisher who is the founder and CEO of Jacaranda Books, a diversity-led publishing house established in 2012.

She was born in Stoke Newington, London, England, second youngest of her parents' children. Growing up with an interest in books and reading, she went on to study American and Commonwealth Arts at the University of Exeter.

Brandes was listed consecutively in the Powerlist 2018 and Powerlist 2019 as one of the 100 most influential black Britons. In June 2021, she was an invited speaker at the online London Book Fair.