Established in 1949, the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) is open to anyone in publishing or a related trade (in any capacity) – or who is hoping to be soon. Originally aimed at the 18–35 age bracket, we realised that many people are looking to change careers at any stage of life. As such, anyone interested in or working in the publishing industry is welcome to join the Society. However, our activities are primarily targeted at those looking to get into the industry or those within the first 10 years of their publishing career.
We have two general streams to cater for this: Into and Ahead. Into is targeted towards those looking to get into the book industry, whilst Ahead resources and events cater towards those looking to develop within the industry.
We have many branches of the SYP – London, Oxford, North, South West, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. The SYP UK branch supports those individuals who don’t live within these regions and oversees the wider organisation strategy. Now in our 75th year, we invite you to join us as all 8 of our branches celebrate this historic milestone.
The SYP has already kick-started the year with the celebratory panel at the London Book Fair – ‘SYP 75th Anniversary: Getting Ahead in Publishing’ – with panellists from past and current committees. Suzanne Collier, Patrick Janson-Smith, Polly Silk and the inaugural Wales chair, Nia Jones celebrated how the society has the confidence to challenge the status quo, the sense of belonging and community that has been created, and the opportunities to network across the country that have been created. Alongside this, the SYP also chaired the panel ‘How to Get into Publishing with the 2024 Trailblazers’, and celebrated their fantastic achievements.
When applications were open for this year’s mentorship scheme, we took a closer look at the history of the mentorship scheme at SYP! We spoke to Jason Mitchell, the SYP Alumnus who coordinated the launch of the first six-month mentorship scheme! Thank you to SYP Alumni, Jason Mitchell and Carl Smith, for their contributions.
Thanks to the support and knowledge of our SYP Archivist, Maria Vassilopoulos, we have been able to learn more about our society’s rich and varied history.
We have been spotlighting material from the archives on our social media channels. It is fascinating to see how SYP and the publishing industry itself has adapted over the years.
As part of our 75th anniversary celebrations, we are excited to introduce the SYP Bridges initiative. This unique programme offers our members the chance to engage in a 75-minute virtual conversation with SYP Committee alumni, fostering a two-way exchange of knowledge and insights across generations.
To celebrate the anniversary, the SYP held several parties across the UK and Ireland in recognition of our expanded network with 8 active branches now in existence.
The UK and London branch hosted a general 75th Anniversary party on 17 August at The Albany and the remaining branches ran 75th celebrations in their own areas, all connected up through shared material and support.
We were delighted to welcome SYP alumni, partners, industry connections, hopefuls and early career professionals to celebrate the SYP and the people within it over the years.
Regional Parties
Committees all around the UK and Ireland held individual celebrations to mark SYP’s milestone 75th anniversary.
From cafe reading sessions to casual drinks and catch-ups, we were pleased to see the wider publishing community come together in celebration. Thank you to all attendees, and to the committee members who worked so hard putting these parties together.
As the Society of Young Publisher’s reaches its 75th year, we asked our alumni to give us some insight into how the publishing industry is changing. As with any industry, publishing has completely transformed over the past two decades, in both good and bad ways, and there’s still a long way to go.
It’s amazing to see how much SYP has changed lives over the years! Check out these incredible success stories. If you’ve got a story to share, we’d love to hear it! Drop us a line at sypchair@thesyp.org.uk.
Listen to two of our SYP alumni as they discuss their key achievements in publishing and more broadly, and how SYP played a part in them! A massive thank you to Carl and Anna for all your support.
“Being on the committee also helped me develop my networking, communication and leadership skills in my own time too. I have been recommending the SYP to young and early career publishers ever since!”- Becca Parkinson, ex-Chair of SYP North (2019)
“Being the Co-Chair of SYP Scotland was one of the biggest and most exciting challenges of my early career… The committee and I learned a great deal of skills that set us all up for our careers, and I can’t speak highly enough of the opportunity it offers.”- Leah McDowell, SYP Scotland, ex-Chair of SYP Scotland
“The first ever SYP meeting was in October 1948 but it wasn’t until 1949 that the first constitution was created. Let’s take a look at how SYP has changed over the years…”
Have a read of our incredibly special anniversary edition of InPrint! Our latest issue celebrates the extraordinary history of the SYP, and dives into how both the society and the publishing industry has changed over the years.
We want to celebrate literature and capturing this moment in time, with books from all genres, publishers, publishing years and experiences. This is a snapshot of what our volunteers love to read, considering what books might stay in the public consciousness for the next 75 years.
You can purchase books via Bookshop.org to support your local independent bookshops by visiting the 75 Books for 75 Years link here. If you buy books through this link, the SYP may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, so you’ll be supporting independent bookshops and the SYP with one purchase.
Want to contribute to our growing collection of images from SYP history?
Share your images with us at alumni@thesyp.org.uk.
