In 2026, SYP UK is running the Into, Ahead and Launch streams of the mentorship scheme. The UK branch covers Bedforshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Shorpshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire and West Midlands.
If you have any questions, please email SYP UK Mentorship Officer Sam at mentorship@thesyp.org.uk.
Click here to apply to the mentorship Into stream.
Click here to apply to the mentorship Ahead stream.
Click here to apply to the mentorship Launch stream.
Meet some of the SYP UK Mentors for 2026
Florence Rees
Agent at AM Heath
Florence joined AM Heath in 2016 after doing various industry internships. She has now worked at AMH for ten years, becoming the first person in the agency’s history to be promoted from assistant to agent. She’s keen to represent authors from a wide range of backgrounds.
Cat Michell
Senior Lecturer in Publishing – University of Derby
Cat Mitchell is a Senior Lecturer in Publishing and the Programme Leader for the Creative Writing and Publishing BA at the University of Derby. She previously worked in the publishing industry, including four years at Penguin Random House. She is currently researching disability in publishing, and in 2021 published the Access Denied report, which investigated barriers for disabled job seekers and employees in the industry.
Han L. Noss
Freelance Proofreader
Han Noss is a freelance proofreader working as H Noss Proofreads, and has worked with Head of Zeus and Penguin General as well as self-publishing authors. Alongside proofreading, they also work as an authenticity reader on novels that involve non-binary and/or neurodivergent characters. They set up their business without prior experience in the publishing industry and benefitted from mentorship through the King’s Trust and the Society of Young Publishers. They are Intermediate Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and run a newsletter for UK freelancers, sole traders, and small business owners.
Polly Silk
Senior Lecturer in Publishing – Oxford Brookes University
Polly Silk (she/her) has over a decade of experience in international rights sales and children’s and education publishing, most recently working as Acting Head of Rights at Oxford University Press’s Education division. She is now a Senior Lecturer in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University, where she teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and runs the MA in Publishing Media. IN 2023 she was the recipient of the Brookes Union Outstanding Teaching for Employability Award. She is also a former Chair of Oxford Publishing Society (OPuS) and the Society of Young Publishers Oxford branch.
Charles Catton
Editorial Director – Amber Books
Charles Catton is the Editorial Director of Amber Books Ltd, a 35-year-old independent London-based publisher of illustrated non-fiction books. He worked briefly at Daunt Books before entering publishing with Jessica Kingsley Publishers as an editorial assistant back in the last millennium. He ten moved into illustrated non-fiction. His direct responsibilities include commissioning, overseeing all pre-press stages including picture research and design as well as editorial, marketing including social media and Amber’s website, digital editions, operations, metadata, IT, AI strategy, distribution and recruitment. HE also has experience working very closely with production, sales and rights: he has been to Frankfurt Book Fair over 20 times. Amber’s titles include the Chinese-Bound series, some of which have sold over half a million copies worldwide, and the Technology Guide series. He is the author of three books which have been translated into several languages.
Fran Roberts
Marketing Manager – Rektion Books
Fran started her career at Palgrave Macmillan as a marketing administrator, 15 years ago. Since then, she has worked for the likes of I.B. Tauris, Robert Hale, DK, The London Book Fair, and most recently Reaktion Books. As marketing manager, she covers everything from podcasts to social media, advertising to designing book proofs. She even does a bit of publicity! She focuses mainly on nonfiction, but as a passion for fiction, and is even writing her own book.
Ellie Potts
Marketing and Communication Officer – LSE Press
Elinor (Ellie) Potts is an award-winning book marketer with over 10-years of experience working in publishing. She currently works for open access social sciences publisher LSE Press and was names a Rising Star by The Booseller and ALPSP in 2025. She is an apprentice in Marketing Management, Level 6 CIM. She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and previously worked as a senior bookseller for independent and commercial retailers.
Dr Helena Markou
Senior Lecturer – Oxford Brookes University
I am Senior Lecturer and Subject Coordinator for the MA Publishing (via distance learning) at Oxford Brookes University. My PhD thesis (funded by the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities) is entitles The Shelf-Life of Books: An Exploration of the Lifecycle and Longevity of Books in the UK in the 21st Century. My research interests include bookselling, publishing, product development, consumerism, book history, book culture, reative industries, digital publishing, digital book history, and digital humanities. If you would like any information about the undergraduate or postgraduate degree courses feel free to ask.
My professional career spans publishing, bookselling, and digital consultancy. As Publishing Innovation Manager at Blackwell I completed a Knowledge Transfer Patnership developing and launching the UK’s first custom textbook service to incorporate chapters from multiple copyright holders. Prior to this I worked in International Sales at Taylor & Francis and was Head of New Business at Perini Networks.
Within my role at Brookes, I support students and recent graduates in all aspects of job hunting and career development.