BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.8//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:156@thesyp.org.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260312T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260312T124500 DTSTAMP:20260304T022245Z URL:https://thesyp.org.uk/events/london-book-fair-syp-ahead-turning-a-new- page-in-your-career/ SUMMARY:London Book Fair: SYP Ahead - Turning a New Page in Your Career DESCRIPTION:PLEASE NOTE: ENTRY TO THIS EVENT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO LONDON BO OK FAIR TICKET HOLDERS.\n\nNavigating your first ten years in publishing c an 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 professi onals and industry experts\, this panel will explore key considerations fo r career progression\, including identifying growth opportunities\, assess ing your readiness\, and advocating for yourself.\n\nThis session is perfe ct for those in their first ten years in the industry who are keen to refl ect on their career trajectory and gain practical advice for taking their next professional step.\n\nThis event will be held in the Olympia Room\,  and you can add it to your LBF schedule here.\nPanellists:\nChelsea Graham \n\nManaging Editor\, Audio at Bonnier Books UK and Founder of The Publish ing Post\n\nChelsea 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 al so founded The Publishing Post which aims to improve inclusivity within th e wider industry\, earning her a host of awards including an LBF Trailblaz er 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 con tributions of young professionals\, librarians\, freelancers and other oft en overlooked groups that enrich the literary landscape.  \n\nStef Hall\ n\nDirector of Talent and Outreach\, Creative Access\n\nStef Hall is a sen ior talent and DEI leader with more than 15 years’ experience across pub lishing\, charity and global communications. She began her career in speci alist 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 de veloping the industry’s first publishing apprenticeship in partnership w ith the Publishers Association. She also designed and launched a pioneerin g traineeship programme focused on addressing underrepresentation in publi shing\, creating sustainable entry routes and rotational opportunities tha t continue to shape inclusive hiring practices today.\n\nShe is now Direct or of Talent and Outreach at Creative Access\, where she leads the organis ation’s Access pillar and oversees recruitment\, outreach and listings a ctivity across the UK creative industries. Stef heads a team connecting un derrepresented talent with paid internships and permanent roles\, while de veloping innovative\, data led strategies to expand reach across the Natio ns and Regions and support professionals at every career stage\, supportin g talent into their dream careers and helping employers to hire inclusivel y\, remove barriers and champion sustainable change within the industry.  \n\nSearsha Sadek\n\nFounder &\; Chief Product Officer\, Shimmr AI\n\nS earsha Sadek is the Founder and Chief Product Officer of Shimmr AI\, an aw ard-winning platform that brings books to life through automated advertisi ng. Shimmr matches books to new audiences and generates advertising faithf ul to each title's DNA\, bringing its human genius to wider attention. Sea rsha trained as a psychologist\, spent years as a strategist at leading ad vertising 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\, an d of course\, reading.\n\nKaren Sambrook \n\nSenior HR Business Partner\, Oxford University Press \n\nKaren started her career in HR working for a local authority\, an entertainment company\, and a pharmaceutical distrib utor before moving into the publishing sector in 2013\, when she joined OU P 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 responsibil ities\, Karen also supports\, mentors\, and encourages colleagues at all l evels of their career through OUP’s development programmes\, as well as providing coaching support to managers via OUPs Coaching Circles. \nBecom e a member to get a discounted ticket to this event!\nWant to join this ev ent? 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 acces s to all of our other members’ events\, our resource centre\, InPrint ma gazine\, partner discounts\, and more!\n\nIf you are already a member\, yo u can access the discount here or by getting in touch with sypchair@thesyp .org.uk. \nBecome a member here.\nAccessibility notice: \nPlease see the London Book Fair page on accessibility here and the visitor’s guide her e. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thesyp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03 /new-page-in-career-lbf.png CATEGORIES:UK LOCATION:Olympia London\, Hammersmith Road\, London\, W14 8UZ\, United King dom GEO:51.495215;-0.211074 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Hammersmith Road\, London\, W14 8UZ\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Olympia London:geo:51 .495215,-0.211074 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251026T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR