This year SYP Ireland is running all 3 branches of the mentorship scheme, Into, Ahead, and Launch.
Introducing our mentors for this year:
SYP Ireland Mentors 2024
Matthew Parkinson-Bennett, CEO & Publisher at Little Island Books
Matthew Parkinson-Bennett is CEO & Publisher at Little Island Books, Ireland’s leading English-language publisher for young readers. Previously he worked as an editor with OUP and for many publishing clients as a freelance editor and publishing project manager.
Deirdre Nolan, Publishing Director at Eriu
Deirdre Nolan has worked in publishing for over 25 years, with companies including Gill Books, New Island and Folens. She set up Eriu, an imprint of Bonnier Books, in 2002 as a home for fiction, non-fiction and children’s books that have a connection to Ireland, while bringing them to a worldwide audience. Authors she has published include Maeve Binchy, John Creedon, Manchan Magan, Aoibhin Garrihy, Liam Brady, Molly Hennigan, Richy Craven and Leeanne O’Donnell.
Joanna Smyth, Marketing and Publishing Operations Director at Hachette IrelandÂ
Joanna Smyth is Marketing and Publishing Operations Director at Hachette Ireland. Joanna completed a Masters in Literature and Publishing at NUI Galway, and joined Hachette Ireland as an editorial assistant in 2010. Joanna has volunteered with Fighting Words, editing two of their short story collections by Transition Year students, and was a Publishing Ireland board member for four years, serving as President from 2020 to 2021.
Adrian Bullock, Associate Lecturer and Consultant at the Oxford International Centre for Publishing at Oxford Brookes University & Managing Director, Principal Consultant, Oxford Publishing Consultancy Ltd
Over the past 40 years, Adrian Bullock has worked on over 80 textbook development and school projects for national governments and NGOs like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, Save the Children, the British Council in more than 65 countries round the globe. He is the author of three books: Book production, (2012), Taylor & Francis, The Green Design and Print Production Handbook, (2015), Ilex and Hachette, the online Oxford Dictionary of Publishing, (2019), OUP, co-authored with Chris Jennings and Nicola Timbrell. He has designed and written modules on Eco-publishing, production and distribution, Publishing Leadership, and Managing Publishing Finances for the United Bible Societies Institute of Publishing. He lives and works in Oxford where, in addition to being an Associate Lecturer for Oxford Brookes he is a Supernumerary Fellow of Harris Manchester College in the University of Oxford.
 Bridget Farrell, Executive Editor of Bullaun Press
Bridget Farrell is Executive Editor of Bullaun Press, the first press in Ireland dedicated to literature in translation, which she founded in 2021. As well as promoting literary translation in an Irish context, Bullaun aims to support translators and foster cultural exchange between Irish citizens and diaspora communities.
Stephen Reid, Publishing Manager of Lilliput Press
Stephen Reid is Publishing Manager of The Lilliput Press. He has been working in Irish Publishing since 2017 across both editorial and sales in various roles at New Island Books, Brookside Publishing Services and HarperCollins Ireland. Stephen has worked on numerous bestsellers and critically-acclaimed works in fiction, non-fiction and children’s. He holds an M.Phil in Irish Writing from Trinity College, Dublin.
Laura Cassidy, Editor & Publisher at Banshee Press
Laura Cassidy is a publisher and editor at the literary journal and small press Banshee, where along with her co-founders she was named a Bookseller Rising Star. In 2024, Banshee Press was named Irish Small Press of the Year at the British Book Awards. Laura’s novels for young adults were published by Penguin Ireland and she is a recipient of the Cecil Day Lewis Literary Bursary Award, and a Literature Bursary Award from the Arts Council of Ireland.
Gráinne O’Toole, Director at Skein Press
Gráinne O’Toole is a director at Skein Press and has a background in community development, social policy and human rights law. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. In 2018 Gráinne cofounded Skein Press to amplify the voices of writers not often featured in Irish literature and publishing so that the richness of our culture can be shared and understood.
Des Doyle, Marketing and Publicity Manager at New Island
Des Doyle joined the New Island team in 2023, following on from 4 years as a senior bookseller and events manager at Hodges Figgis bookstore in Dublin. His previous roles span marketing, event management and journalism. He holds qualifications in these subjects from Dublin Business School and the Fitzwilliam Institute. He reads widely, with an emphasis on non-fiction.Â
Courtney Fitzmaurice, Press Officer at HarperCollins Ireland
Courtney Fitzmaurice is Press Officer at HarperCollins Ireland. Previously, she’s worked at Wordwell Books and Gill Books. She has a degree in journalism from DCU and a Professional Diploma in PR & Marketing from UCD Professional Academy.
Aoife Harrison, Editor at Gill Books
Aoife Harrison is an editor, living and working in Dublin. She has worked in publishing for seven years, after several years as a Children’s bookseller/buyer in a chain of independent bookstores. She has worked across marketing, sales, rights and editorial departments, with a particular focus on Irish children’s and YA books. After several years with the O’Brien Press, she currently works as an Editor at Gill Books.