SYP Scotland 2026 Conference Speakers

Jonny is the Publisher Relations Director for Bookspeed. He oversees all publisher-facing functions for the UK’s largest supplier of books to the gift and heritage retail sectors, working closely with publishers to reach the non-traditional market. Bookspeed works with over 100 publishers and supplies 2,500 customers throughout the UK and Ireland, ranging from Oliver Bonas and the National Trust, to small independent gift shops and local museums. Jonny has over 20 years’ experience in the publishing industry, working in trade, kids and academic publishing. 

Jennifer Andreacchi (she/they) is the Publicity & Marketing Officer at Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh-based independent publisher, where she helps implement comprehensive marketing strategies and coordinate media coverage for fiction, nonfiction, academic, and poetry titles. She graduated from The College of William & Mary in 2019 and began their career as a content writer and marketing executive, before completing an MLitt at the University of St Andrews in Women, Writing and Gender in 2021. They joined the Birlinn team and the publishing industry in early 2022. She is passionate about building strong relationships with both authors and journalists, as well as creative innovation on social media and accessibility and inclusion in publishing.

Matthew Land is the Event Area Coordinator for Waterstones and Blackwell’s on Scotland’s East Coast, primarily focused on the events programmes for Waterstones Edinburgh West End and Blackwell’s Edinburgh.

He has been bookselling since he was 17, taking a Saturday job at an antiquarian bookshop on the Welsh border. He has been with Blackwell’s and Waterstones for 10 years and has been managing the event programme since the 2019. He runs all manner of events, from cosy book groups to large-venue author talks and tours, catering to all reading tastes. 

In his spare time, Matthew is also a New York Times bestselling illustrator, having worked with HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Chicken House, Floris Books, Aardman Animations, and the Royal Mint. He is represented by Arena Illustration.

Claire Allan is an experienced cultural engagement leader, specialising in the creation, development and delivery of learning and engagement programmes, events, exhibitions and partnerships which connect audiences with the culture, heritage and history around them. She spent more than two decades in Learning & Engagement at National Museums Scotland where she led the creative development of large-scale adult events and cultural programming at the National Museum of Scotland including their flagship Museum Lates and Fringe Fridays offer, and partnership programming with the likes of Edinburgh Science Festival and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, as well as the planning, development and delivery of schools and family programming, and large-scale family friendly income-generating events at the National Museums of Rural Life and Flight.  

Dr Harriet MacMillan is the Director of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature. Born and raised in Edinburgh, she has three degrees in English and Creative Writing from the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford; her PhD examined contemporary feminist rewritings of mythology. During her time as Literature Officer with Creative Scotland, she managed five iterations of the Momentum Literature delegation in partnership with Festivals Edinburgh and the British Council, as well as the Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship. She was manager of the Forward Prizes, a tutor in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, and is also a writer herself.

Laura Jones-Rivera is the co-founder and co-publisher of the award-winning 404 Ink, and a PhD Researcher in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling. She is also currently Charco Press’ Operations Manager and works for numerous other publishers, such as Bloomsbury and Cipher Press, as a freelance typesetter. She was named a Rising Star by the Bookseller in 2022.