It is with great sadness that friends and colleagues from across the LSE share news of the death of Anne Shepherd, on Thursday 6 June 2024.
Anne joined LSE in 2002, and until her retirement last autumn, she managed the Editorial Office of Population Studies, deftly overseeing all aspects of the day-to-day production of the journal. She also served as the Secretariat for the Population Investigations Committee (PIC) and the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS). Anne’s unwavering and unparalleled commitment to her work has left an indelible mark.
Anne’s extremely competent, extremely knowledgeable, and no-nonsense approach to all she did, earned her much respect and admiration, both within and outside of the School. Countless members of the demographic research community who encountered Anne as PIC-funded MSc students, BSPS council members, authors, reviewers, and editors will have fond memories of her inimitably patient, good-humoured – but uncompromising and occasionally irreverent – manner and approach. She will be dearly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with her.
I met Anne many years ago when she took over the journal Population Studies and the Populations Investigations Committee (PIC) in the early 2000’s. Our publisher at the time, T&F, asked if I could help her settle in. This was to be the beginning of a long friendship.
She was a brilliant match for her new role. Among other things, I introduced Anne to ALPSP (the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers) to provide her with a resource to expand her knowledge and understanding in this new aspect of her publishing life. We frequently attended conferences, seminars and lectures on highly relevant issues facing journals that offered great opportunities but also simultaneously revealing potential and actual threats within the rapid advances taking place at that time. She relished her new role. Her past experience of managing a busy bookshop was immense and gave her invaluable knowledge of the business side of running concerns. This stood her in great stead for restructuring practices to future proof both the journal and PIC against the challenging times that lay ahead.
An often uncompromising figure she was well-respected within the publishing community. Her Yorkshire, no nonsense approach, belied her warmth and intelligence. Her ability to grasp frequently complex concepts being explored within the fast moving world faced by the publishing community and then go on to apply them to the benefit of the journal and the PIC was remarkable.
Frequent lunches and expeditions – mostly filled with laughter, wine and very good food – provided a welcome release from a very busy worklife. Chocolate in any form also played a hugely important role…. Conversations spanned so many subjects: our joint love of our gardens and their wildlife visitors, politics, the many books we’d consumed, American football, the scurrilous rumours frequently delivered by Anne with great relish and, following her recent retirement, featured both her visits to places available on the Open Gardens scheme and the many University of the Third Age activities attended. So many more had been planned for in the future but those, sadly, were not to be realised. One of the more notable outings we had was visiting the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy entitled A Bigger Picture. The artwork comprised images of Anne’s beloved Yorkshire composed on his IPad. I recall clearly Anne standing transfixed in front of one particular landscape which I think was entitled ‘Garroby Hill’? The only comment she made was ‘Oh, I so love this view… It was my favourite as a child…’ It was the look of wonder and delight as she gazed at the scene, so obviously moved by memories, that remains with me. It was an wonderful insight into an intensely private, intelligent, brave and lovely friend who I will miss so dearly.
Jacquie Gauntlett
(British Journal of Sociology, retired)
Anne was a wonderful colleague who became a true friend. She was always open-minded to new initiatives, ideas and possibilities we would bring to her as a publishing house. She would appraise their merits against the needs and requirements of her Journal’s authors, and the PIC, and take on board only what passed the test!
Over the years Anne proved invaluable to me, providing honest and fair feedback about what was and wasn’t working “client-side”. She would never pull punches when change was needed, but equally was generous with her praise.
She also provided a sounding board as we introduced new systems and processes. The final iterations were better for the time and effort given.
Anne showed a real interest in all the members of the publishing team she had contact with, whatever their role, and was spoken of with great respect in return.
I recall with fondness and trepidation the formal and less formal meetings at the LSE, and lively conversation over good “publishing lunches”. Anne would always ensure we were properly briefed beforehand leading to productive and successful meetings all around. She enabled a true partnership with her publisher whilst knowing the PIC’s interests were paramount.
Over the years, a working relationship turned to friendship and towards the end of our careers I had the privilege of getting to know Anne more closely on a personal level. We made (with Jacquie) Anne’s first ever trip to Kew Gardens, and I was pleased to visit her at home and in her local neighbourhoods. Anne was a kind, warm, funny and at times irreverent friend, and I am fortunate to have known her.
Tracy Roberts
Former Publisher, Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group