PLEASE NOTE: ENTRY TO THIS EVENT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO LONDON BOOK FAIR TICKET HOLDERS.
Navigating your first ten years in publishing can be both exciting and challenging. Knowing when to take the next step in your career—whether pursuing a promotion, moving into a new role, or even switching sectors—can feel daunting. Led by experienced HR professionals and industry experts, this panel will explore key considerations for career progression, including identifying growth opportunities, assessing your readiness, and advocating for yourself.
This session is perfect for those in their first ten years in the industry who are keen to reflect on their career trajectory and gain practical advice for taking their next professional step.
This event will be held in the Olympia Room, and you can add it to your LBF schedule here.
Chelsea Graham
Managing Editor, Audio at Bonnier Books UK and Founder of The Publishing Post
Chelsea is currently working as a Managing Editor in the Audio team at Bonnier Books UK where she oversees all of the audiobooks on the commercial fiction lists and loves just how varied a day in audio can be. She has previously worked for Bloomsbury and Happiful Magazine. Chelsea also founded The Publishing Post which aims to improve inclusivity within the wider industry, earning her a host of awards including an LBF Trailblazer award and a Printing Charity Rising Star Award for her determination to open up the industry to those wanting to learn. In collaboration with SYP, she also launched the First Chapter Awards in 2024 to recognise the contributions of young professionals, librarians, freelancers and other often overlooked groups that enrich the literary landscape.
Stef Hall
Director of Talent and Outreach, Creative Access
Stef Hall is a senior talent and DEI leader with more than 15 years’ experience across publishing, charity and global communications. She began her career in specialist publishing recruitment before moving in house to lead resourcing at HarperCollins, where she was responsible for end to end hiring across the UK business. During her time there, she modernised the Graduate Scheme, earning a Bookseller Rising Star nomination, and played a key role in developing the industry’s first publishing apprenticeship in partnership with the Publishers Association. She also designed and launched a pioneering traineeship programme focused on addressing underrepresentation in publishing, creating sustainable entry routes and rotational opportunities that continue to shape inclusive hiring practices today.
She is now Director of Talent and Outreach at Creative Access, where she leads the organisation’s Access pillar and oversees recruitment, outreach and listings activity across the UK creative industries. Stef heads a team connecting underrepresented talent with paid internships and permanent roles, while developing innovative, data led strategies to expand reach across the Nations and Regions and support professionals at every career stage, supporting talent into their dream careers and helping employers to hire inclusively, remove barriers and champion sustainable change within the industry.
Searsha Sadek
Founder & Chief Product Officer, Shimmr AI
Searsha Sadek is the Founder and Chief Product Officer of Shimmr AI, an award-winning platform that brings books to life through automated advertising. Shimmr matches books to new audiences and generates advertising faithful to each title’s DNA, bringing its human genius to wider attention. Searsha trained as a psychologist, spent years as a strategist at leading advertising agencies including Droga5 and BBH, and served as Chief Revenue Officer of an AI brand management company. She writes a monthly column for BookBrunch and speaks internationally on AI and the future of publishing. Outside work, you can find her swimming, drinking tea, kickboxing, and of course, reading.
Karen Sambrook
Senior HR Business Partner, Oxford University Press
Karen started her career in HR working for a local authority, an entertainment company, and a pharmaceutical distributor before moving into the publishing sector in 2013, when she joined OUP as an HR Business Partner supporting the Academic division. She spent 4 years in this role before moving into a Global Talent Manager role in 2017. Since 2022, Karen has been a Senior HR Business Partner supporting OUP’s global finance and operations functions. Alongside her HR responsibilities, Karen also supports, mentors, and encourages colleagues at all levels of their career through OUP’s development programmes, as well as providing coaching support to managers via OUPs Coaching Circles.
Want to join this event? Become a member to benefit from a 30% discount on LBF tickets! We’d love for you to join us and by becoming a member you’ll also gain access to all of our other members’ events, our resource centre, InPrint magazine, partner discounts, and more!
If you are already a member, you can access the discount here or by getting in touch with sypchair@thesyp.org.uk.
Please see the London Book Fair page on accessibility here and the visitor’s guide here.