[3] Butterworth began working in publishing as a secretary, then as an editorial assistant at Book Club Associates from 1977 to 1981.
[8][9] The shop was a community hub for feminists in London,[10] and her newsletter, the Silver Moon Quarterly, had more than 10,000 subscribers worldwide.
She and Corinne Gotch founded Meerkat Books, a not-for-profit marketing network to promote independent British booksellers and publishers.
[1] In 1996, Butterworth served as a judge for the NCR Non-Fiction Prize, on a panel with Nick Hornby, Jeremy Paxman, Cristina Odone, and Andrew Roberts.
[15] Butterworth died at Bank, Hampshire, in 2004, aged 53 years, from cancer; she was survived by her partner Irene Roele.