Gaby Wood, 47, is a journalist and the literary director of the Booker Prize Foundation. She lives in London with her two daughters.

My alarm goes off…

At 6.30am. When I’m writing I wake up before my alarm because it’s on my mind. I check The Guardian, The Times and The New York Times online while drinking a cup of tea and answering emails. Most days, I’ll wear dark jeans from Mother and a jumper from Rag & Bone or Vince. If I have a meeting, though, I’ll dress the polar opposite in a pencil skirt and silk blouse. I start work properly about 9.30am.

I’m responsible for…

Selecting each year’s judges for the Man Booker Prize and looking after them through the process. I’m also involved in choosing the candidates for the Booker Prize Foundation scholarship; the winner receives funding for an MA in creative writing. As a journalist, I’m also responsible for meeting deadlines for various publications.

I got the job…

Through a series of happy accidents. I read French literature at Cambridge and went on to work for The Observer, where I was a features writer but involved in the books pages, too. I worked for them in New York for seven years, then returned to the UK to become books editor at The Telegraph, which led to my position at the Booker Foundation.

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