Spare Room Project

The London-centric nature of our industry is well-acknowledged.

The Spare Room Project helps people from outside London enter the publishing industry by arranging free temporary accommodation in the capital. By easing accommodation costs, this allows hopefuls to secure potentially career-changing
job interviews and short term internships that they previously would be unable to attend.

Many participants have also enjoyed the opportunity for informal mentoring that the scheme creates.

This initiative is a practical, flexible, and constructive way existing members of the book trade can support publishing hopefuls and help to increase the regional diversity within the publishing industry.

Testimonials of the Spare Room Project

“Thanks to the Spare Room Project, I did not only save a daily commute of over six hours, but I also had the wonderful opportunity to make new acquaintances. The experience of meeting someone in their own home, who has opened their doors to you, has been so rewarding for me in the connections I was able to make and will likely keep for a very long time.

The shared interest and the sharing of publishing experience was an added bonus that made for a great conversation starter, but eventually dinners turned into late night conversations about all kinds of things! While I was nervous about staying with a stranger to begin with, I can confidently say that the people who open their doors for this project are nothing but kind, full of heart and soul and a pleasure to spend time with!

My experience on my publishing internship was enhanced with my experience with the Spare Room project and I hope that others in the same situation as me will welcome this opportunity with curiosity and excitement!” – Lucille Pauline Seppi

You can apply to be a guest here.

You can apply to be a host here.