Biteback Publishing Explained

Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in Hull, and concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009.^[1] It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale^[2] and by Michael Ashcroft's Political Holdings Ltd,^[3] until 2018 when Dale stepped down to focus on his television and radio work.^[4] Biteback Publishing has published several books by Ashcroft including Call Me Dave, his 2015 biography of David Cameron.^[5]

Other titles include Out in the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier (2013) by James Wharton,^[6] The Left's Jewish Problem (2016) by Dave Rich, and Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World (2017) by investigative journalist James Ball.^[7]

in 2017 & 2018 the company published two books by Labour MP Austin Mitchell, Revenge of the Rich: The Neoliberal Revolution in Britain and New Zealand, (2017) and Confessions of a Political Maverick (2018).

More recently, the company has published Jesse Norman's first novel, The Winding Stair (2023), which won the 2023 Parliamentary Book Award for Nonfiction or Fiction by a Parliamentarian,^[8] Ten Years To Save The West by Liz Truss^[9] and Andrew Pierce's bestselling^[10] memoir Finding Margaret (2024), about his search for his birth mother.^[11]

In 2025 Biteback acquired the world rights for How to Launder Money: A Guide for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Policymakers authored by Donald Trump-linked political fundraiser George Cottrell^[12] and international investigator Burke Files scheduled for release in February 2026.^[13]

Biteback announced they will publish the authorised biography of entrepreneur Denis Lynn, written by Jago Pearson, in 2026.^[14]

As of 2014 around 20% of the company's sales are ebooks.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Biteback Publishing Limited. Endole. 26 September 2015.
2. Web site: Wharton. James. Biting Back. authoright. 26 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150927163615/http://www.authoright.com/author-advice/biting-back/. 27 September 2015. dead.
3. News: Pickard. Jim. Lord Ashcroft retires from House of Lords. 26 September 2015. Financial Times. 31 March 2015.
4. Web site: Iain Dale steps down at Biteback and Andy McNab takes on advisory role to guide Biteback into next stage of growth. Biteback Publishing. 6 December 2022.
5. Web site: Michael Ashcroft. Biteback Publishing. 26 September 2015.
6. Web site: Out In The Army My Life as a Gay Soldier by James Wharton. 16 January 2019.
7. Web site: Onwuemezi. Natasha. Investigation into post-truth to Biteback. The Bookseller. 18 November 2017.
8. Web site: 7 February 2024. Anderson. Porter. In London: Fêting the New Parliamentary Book Award Winners. Publishing Perspectives. 16 September 2024.
9. Web site: Maguire . Patrick . 2024-04-17 . Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss review — as readable as a crisp packet . 2025-01-04 . www.thetimes.com . en.
10. Web site: 26 May 2024. Amazon Charts - Most Sold = Non-Fiction - Week of 19 May 2024. Amazon UK. 16 September 2024.
11. News: 18 June 2024. Lillywhite. Maisie. Andrew Pierce's 'hard' mission to find his birth mum. BBC News. 16 September 2024.
12. News: 22 September 2025. Latchem. Tom. Trump-Linked Political Fundraiser Writes Book on How to Launder Money. Daily Beast. 23 September 2025.
13. Web site: 22 September 2025. How To Launder Money: A Guide for Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Policymakers.
14. Web site: 2024-11-11 . From streets of Belfast to multi-million-pound food empire, biography chronicles life of late NI entrepreneur Denis Lynn . 2025-01-04 . Belfast News Letter . en.
15. Web site: 2 July 2014. Dale. Iain. Biteback Publishing Is Five Years Old. Iain Dale's blog. 27 November 2015.