Mentors for SYP UK’s Into Mentorship Stream

Posted on September 21, 2020 in News & Reviews, UK

This week each SYP branch will announce their mentors for the upcoming mentorship scheme.

Today is the turn of the UK team,  who are running the Into stream that is dedicated to helping those  looking to secure their first permanent role in publishing.

The UK Committee is covering the following areas of the UK and Ireland: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Hereford & Worcester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North-Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, West Midlands

If you are based in the counties listed above, you could be paired with one of the mentors listed below. Applications open on Monday 28 September and close at 11:59pm on Thursday October 8. Details on how to apply will be available on the SYP homepage soon.

But for now, let us introduce you to our first batch of mentors taking part in the 2020 SYP UK & Ireland Mentorship Scheme…

UK Committee Mentors

Cecilia Bennett, Managing Editor, Sweet Cherry Publishing

Cecilia Bennett is the Managing Editor at Sweet Cherry Publishing, an independent East Midlands-based children’s publishing company that was recently shortlisted for the Blackwell’s Children’s Publisher of the Year Award. Cecilia works with the Publisher to develop Sweet Cherry’s list and manages the company’s editorial team. She also holds an MSc in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University.

Twitter: @CeciliaEBennett,  @SweetCherryPub
Instagram: cecilia_bennett

Christopher Greenaway, Publisher, CGW Publishing

Christopher Greenaway is the founder of CGW Publishing, an independent publisher specialising in business books for authors who want to build a service business around their intellectual property. Christopher has been writing, ghost writing, editing and publishing since 2000. His expertise is in helping authors to use books and other information products to add credibility and value to their services.

Twitter: @cgwpublishing
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-greenaway-independent-business-publisher
Website: www.cgwpublishing.com

Rachel Gregory, Managing Editor, Trigger Publishing

Rachel is the managing editor at Trigger Publishing. She has worked in publishing for around a decade, in a variety of editorial, audio and digital publishing roles, with indie authors as well as across trade lists. She is an avid reader of historical fiction, quirky debuts and uplifting self-help books.

Cat Mitchell, Lecturer and Programme Leader, University of Derby

Cat Mitchell is a Lecturer in Writing and Publishing at the University of Derby, and has previously had numerous roles in the UK publishing industry, including working in Publicity/Marketing at Penguin Random House for four years.

Twitter handles: @CatMitchell17, @DerbyPublishing

Farhana Shaikh, Publisher of Dahlia Publishing, Founder and Editor of The Asian Writer

Farhana Shaikh is a writer and publisher born in Leicester. She is the founding editor of The Asian Writer, an online magazine championing Asian literature. She established Dahlia Publishing to publish regional and diverse writing.

Twitter ids: @farhanashaikh, @dahliabooks

Jane Spencer, Managing Director, Eyrie Press

Eyrie Press is a small independent publisher, established in 2014. Eyrie publish non-fiction; contemporary, historical and speculative fiction; and children’s picture books. They are a social enterprise and CIC, working to publish books featuring underrepresented groups and to support writers in the east of England.

Twitter: @janefspencer,  @eyriepress
Instagram:  @eyriepress

Kaya Spencer, Communications & Community Executive, Cambridge University Press

Kaya Spencer is a Communications & Community Executive for Cambridge University Press having joined them 5 years ago as a pre-levy apprentice. The apprenticeship offered Kaya an alternative route into publishing and has resulted in her working across Communications, Community Engagement and Recruitment for CUP. For CUP her key focus is developing the following areas of the company: Apprenticeships, Diversity and Inclusion, Social Mobility and Talent Attraction.

Kaya is also a post-levy, degree level apprentice studying for Chartered Management with the Open University, supported by Cambridge University Press.

Twitter: @CambridgeUP
Instagram handles: cambridgeuniversitypress

Frances Staton, Former Wholesaler, Bertrams

Frances Staton has been in the book industry for over 30 years, gaining extensive experience in buying, marketing and supply chain for former wholesaler Bertrams – with perspective on both publishing and bookselling. Frances has worked with UK publishers from small independents to major groups, and can also share insight into the various bookselling channels.

Twitter: @FrancesShx

Kate Weir, Learning & Development Specialist, Cambridge University Press

Kate is from Glasgow and is a Learning & Development Specialist at Cambridge University Press, responsible for leadership and management development for global colleagues. With a degree in International Business she has experience in digital marketing and was a graduate trainee at CUP taking on various placements across the business. She also spent a year working and travelling in Australia.

Twitter: @CambridgeUP
Instagram handles: cambridgeuniversitypress, @lovefromk8

Emma Dai’an Wright, Publisher, The Emma Press

Emma Dai’an Wright is a British-Chinese-Vietnamese publisher based in Birmingham. She is the founder of The Emma Press, specialising in poetry, children’s books and translations. She has published over 500 writers across more than 90 books, and The Emma Press won the Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlet Publishers in 2016.

Twitter: @TheEmmaPress, @emmadaian
Instgram: @TheEmmaPress
Facebook: TheEmmaPress