Hetta Howes brought a writer's eye to her own session. A senior lecturer in medieval and early modern literature and a BBC New Generation Thinker, she is the author of Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women, a trade book that won wide praise on publication in 2024.

For her Novel Author Portrait Package we worked in studio, seated at a table, using two backdrops: a soft light pink and a deep, moody tone called Abyss. The two looks give very different moods, one warmer and more open, one darker and more contemplative, so Hetta has options that suit anything from a friendly festival listing to a more serious literary feature.

Academic and trade authors often need a portrait that reads as both credible and approachable. The seated, considered setup is built for exactly that. If you write and need portraits for a book, press or your university and publisher profiles, see the author portrait page.