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Get into and ahead in publishing

Volunteering as an Under-represented Publishing Professional or Hopeful

Learn more about time commitment, support available, the SYP’s dedication to inclusivity, and more in this recorded Q&A panel delivered by some of our 2024 volunteers.


No matter what role or branch you’re interested in applying for, this Q&A will give you more of an insight into what it’s like to volunteer with the Society of Young Publishers.

Meet our panellists:

Han Noss (they/them) is the 2024 UK Inclusivity Lead and a freelance proofreader who first joined the SYP after being a mentee on the SYP mentorship scheme. They are non-binary, disabled, and neurodivergent, and identify as LGBTQIA+.

Annie Blombach (she/her) is the 2024 UK Job & Student Outreach Lead and a Rights Executive at an agency in London. She joined the SYP following participation in the mentorship scheme and holds an MA in International Publishing. She identifies as LGBTQIA+ and has multiple mental health conditions.

Katie Siddall (they/them) is one of the two Events Officers for SYP North 2024. They have also just accepted a Marketing Assistant role for an academic publisher! Katie is a non-binary, bisexual person who has Type One Diabetes.

Daniela Quintero (she/her) is one of the Events Officers of SYP London and a Rights Assistant at HarperCollins who first joined the SYP two years ago while doing her MA in Publishing at UCL.

Michaela O’Callaghan (she/her) is an SYP UK Co-Chair and a Marketing Manager at a sales and marketing agency in children’s publishing. She joined SYP as a UK Events Officer whilst working remotely in a publishing internship during the pandemic and is now in her third year on an SYP committee.

If you have any questions or accessibility needs, please email sypchair@thesyp.org.uk or inclusivity@thesyp.org.uk.

Video- Q&A: 2024

Event summary

Q: How does the SYP judge applications fairly? 

  • Anonymising applications process – takes out information that is personal and that might identify someone (e.g. names, place of work/study) 
  • Criteria – Applications will be judged against 3 pieces of criteria, which are: knowledge of the SYP, passion for SYP aims, and competency for the role. This helps Chairs select the best candidates for that year’s role, based on the information you put into your application. If two or more applicants are equal based on this criteria, Chairs will be able to check whether the applicants have self-identified on their application as under-represented. This means we can fairly assess applications while still promoting diversity across our committees.
  • Criteria can be found on this page on writing a great SYP volunteer application: https://thesyp.org.uk/volunteer/syp-volunteer-application-tips/

Q: Do most of you volunteer on top of full time jobs and how do you juggle that/manage your time? 

  • It can help to have a schedule or a certain timeslot in your week where you work on SYP stuff
  • Only a few hours each week (at most), so very easy to juggle alongside both full-time jobs and studies (most volunteers have full-time commitments)
  • Great support from your chairs, committee and other branches
  • Helpful guidelines on what is expected of you, no pressure to immediately reply to messages
  • Can be like a break to your day job/life
  • It’s okay to be flexible and commit less time when work/uni/life is busier
  • Maintain open communication with your chairs, everyone is really lovely and understanding
  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help or support

Q: What is the time commitment like for your role? Does it vary throughout the year?

  • Annie: 3-5 hours (or less, whatever you are able to commit to); jobs side doesn’t vary throughout the year, student outreach side is usually busier during term time 
  • Daniela: very little time commitment, role is split between 6 people, a little busier when there is a big event
  • Katie: similar to Daniela, depends on how many events are running
  • Han: there will be time to settle in in the beginning

Q: What changes and initiatives have been implemented as a result of the latest inclusivity survey in 2023? Are there any upcoming? 

  • How we promote committee applications (as many and as diverse places as possible)
  • Reviewing the application forms and job descriptions as part of reviewing the transparency of volunteer roles
  • Q&A for under-represented groups to make them feel confident to apply
  • Agree on selection criteria and publicising it
  • Reviewing past content and content ideas for people over 30
  • 2 Masterclasses for the Ahead stream
  • Started a quarterly events bulletin to increase notice on events
  • Contacts with publishing networks such as LGBTQIA+ networks
  • Event planned for January on role of diversity and inclusivity in publishing
  • Book clubs: diversifying books we choose (characters, stories and authors)
  • Internal processes to be documented and updated to make committee transitions smoother

Q: What kind of volunteering work do you do for your role? Do volunteers work mostly alone or with other people?

  • Michaela: UK committee has a buddy system, monthly committee meetings, cross-branch working groups, building connections across the volunteer groups
  • Daniela: Contacting attendees and venues, posting events online, attend events and support attendees and panelists
  • Katie: you can connect with people and ask questions, even if you work alone, you are always able to reach out and not feel alone
  • Annie: outreach role quite external, emailing and sharing info about the SYP and the industry; jobs role very internal
  • Han: working with the chairs and different roles, sharing resources, ideas and insights, lots of opportunities to expand your role

Q: What do you love most about your specific roles? 

  • Daniela: getting some experience during my MA, gaining courage and confidence, connecting with so many people and learning from them 
  • Katie: teaching and inspiring people and see them get something out of what I do
  • Annie: hearing that what I do has been useful and being an active part in someone’s journey into publishing, having an overview of jobs and what publishers are looking for, connections across the UK and the industry
  • Michaela: learning so much from everyone you meet, building confidence, brilliant opportunity to give back, use your voice and actively improve the industry
  • Han: working freelance can feel isolating and the SYP combats this

Q: For events officers, where it says previous events planning preferred, does this mean actual events or does planning events i.e. at university societies count and does it greatly decrease chances to not have that experience? 

  • University or volunteer experience is absolutely sufficient and no specific experience is strictly needed, enthusiasm and passion is most important
  • Daniela & Katie: had only run 1-2 small events before starting their role

Q: I have a lot of enthusiasm which I think I can get across in person but because I am autistic I sometimes think I’m not good at getting it across in writing for applications. Do you have any advice on how to convey the excitement I know I have? 

  • Talk about your interest in publishing and the SYP 
  • Be aware of what the SYP does and come up with ideas of what you would do in the role 
  • Mention how you might have already gotten involved with the SYP (events, mentorship, Spare Zoom, podcast etc) 
  • Talk about your personal perspective and show what you know 
  • Have a look around the website and see what we do and how and why we do it
  • If you struggle with putting your enthusiasm into words, try recording yourself talking about it and then putting that into writing

How volunteering for the SYP is accessible

Katie Siddall, 2024 Events Officer for SYP North:

“As someone with an invisible disability, I wish to keep it invisible from others (I hate mentioning it and I certainly won’t bring it up unless asked). Type One Diabetes is unpredictable and, as an Events Officer, this could disrupt a meeting, communication or even mid-event. SYP North have been so welcoming and understanding to my disability and I’ve learnt to become more confident with my bodies needs as well as voicing them in a work environment. I try to get through my job and pretend my blood sugar is ‘fine’, but this role and the committee have allowed me to realise it’s fine to take a breath and do what my body asks of me. If you have any accessibility needs, SYP have always been there for me, so they will be for you.”

Annie Blombach, 2024 Job and Student Outreach Lead for SYP UK:

“As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, volunteering with the SYP pushed me out of my comfort zone in the best way possible. Getting to talk about my passion for books and the publishing industry that I am proud to be a part of has helped me overcome my fear of public speaking and has boosted my confidence immensely, which in turn helped me be more comfortable when it comes to new challenges in my day job. Additionally, the entire SYP committee is a bunch of open, understanding and lovely people that are always there to support you no matter what and will always be happy to make adjustments wherever needed.”

Han Noss, 2024 Inclusivity Lead for SYP UK:

“As a neurodivergent person, I felt supported and able to adapt my volunteering tasks to what worked for me. Being physically disabled, it was great to be able to volunteer remotely for the South West committee in 2023 and then again in 2024 for the UK committee. I’ve never felt pressured to do anything that I wasn’t confident with. Some of the small adaptations that work for me include: having a monthly to-do list that I post in Slack for accountability; using Google Meet for chairing working group meetings so I can use their captioning and reduce stress around using Zoom (which I’m unfamiliar with); using Doodle Polls to schedule meetings with committee members and the Inclusivity working group; and having an event plan and light script for hosting both meetings and events.”