Last year, Zahra Khan was one of the successful recipients of the Creative Access x McLaren Racing Career Development Bursary. With the second round of the bursary just announced, Zahra tells us what she’s used the bursary for over the past year and how its impacted her creative career…

I was working as a barista and waitress in a London cafe when I applied for the Creative Access and McLaren Career Development Bursary. I was completely struggling to pay rent and stay afloat. Needless to say, I did not have the disposable income needed to invest in creative pursuits. When I was awarded the bursary, it opened the door for me to be able to independently produce a radio show and make prints again.

I’ve been presenting a monthly radio show with community-based radio station Dublin Digital Radio for the last two years. My show is a platform to discuss research related to South Asian diasporic identity, culture, and history. I used to present from a studio in Dublin, but in London, I did not have the equipment needed to continue remotely presenting the show. The bursary allowed me to buy a microphone which I have since used to interview guests and record myself, allowing my show to survive.

I’m particularly proud of a show I recorded last February using the bursary. I interviewed the founder of Hungama, a queer Bollywood night in London, and recorded snippets of a discussion in RichMix about brown LGBTQ+ nightlife. I used these recordings to create a radio documentary about queer South Asian nightlife in London. 

The bursary allowed me to purchase equipment for my work as a visual artist. I was able to buy Photoshop and a UV lamp which I’ve since used to produce cyanotype prints on both paper and glass. I would never have been able to experiment with glass printing without the support of this bursary. 

Being awarded the bursary has had a huge impact on my life and work. It gave me a confidence boost to know that someone believed in the value of my work. Trying to make it in the creative world can be frustrating, expensive, and challenging. You’ve got to believe in yourself and your work, and at the beginning of your career, you can feel like an imposter staring in at the work of established creatives. The bursary reminded me that my work can be taken seriously, even in its very early stages.

My portfolio of work continues to build and has landed me opportunities such as creating artwork for local bands and even an internship offer at the Financial Times. I’ve been able to live off my freelance writing career and was recently awarded a bursary by the Arts Council which will allow me the time and opportunity to write a booklet of experimental prose about colonisation in Ireland and South Asia.

None of this would have been possible without the boost that being awarded this bursary gave me. Even just the process of filling out the application has given me the confidence to apply and research for more awards, grants, scholarships, and bursaries. The creative world can still seem like a scary space, but the Creative Access x McLaren bursary has given me some of the tools I need to navigate it.

The next round of the Creative Access x McLaren Racing Career Development Bursary is now open for applications. Find out more and apply here by 7th Novemeber 2022.

On Monday 3rd October, around twenty Creative Access interns and alumni came together for a book club hosted at the independent book shop and wine/coffee bar Bookbar.

Our pick for this month was Babel, a new novel from award-winning author Rebecca F. Kuang about the power of language, the machinations of 19th Century colonialism, and the price of resistance.

But what does this actually look like on the page? A culturally diverse group of students study translation in a fantastical tower in Oxford, begin understanding its roots to the British Empire, and wreak havoc before they can help themselves.

Over the course of an hour we took a deep dive into the book to share our thoughts, covering topics from which characters were well-drawn or sympathetic, how messy racial and nationalistic politics played out, and what exactly did we make of that ending.

Something that consistently came up was Kuang’s approach to altering reality. She writes about a fictional technology that uses silver and massively enriches the European powers. Silver bars are inscribed with the same word in two languages, creating a spell which might do anything from keeping food from going stale to locking a door. By making other languages a key part of the silver bars, Kuang presents cultural difference itself as something that can treated by empire as a material resource.

Many thanks to everyone who attended and HarperCollins for sponsoring the event!

The Creative Access book club is open to Creative Access trainees, those placed by us through the Kickstart scheme, and our alumni. We read soon-to-be or recently published books, always by authors from under-represented backgrounds.

If you’re a publisher who would like to nominate one of your upcoming books, please contact us at info@creativeaccess.org.uk.

White Cube came to Creative Access in the wake of George Floyd’s murder to help the gallery radically shift its diversity and inclusion agenda.

Creative Access has enabled White Cube to develop and implement a diversity and inclusion strategy which will have a lasting impact on the gallery’s structure and output. We also support on practical implementation, from running training to bringing in new talent via internships and job listings. 

Creative Access worked with the White Cube board to devise a diversity and inclusion policy that is authentic and ambitious. We delivered an extensive company-wide global training programme, designed to deepen understanding of personal and collective impact and to affect behavioural change to create a more inclusive environment.

White Cube is one of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries, with branches in London and Hong Kong.

 

 

On Thursday 30th September, we were joined at MullenLowe’s offices by four brilliant Creative Access alumni who are storytellers across publishing, TV and film, content strategy, and news reportage.

To quickly introduce the panel: our chair, Raveena Ghattaura, is an experienced broadcast journalist currently working as a reporter and presenter at ITV News Anglia. She is highly skilled in covering breaking news stories, self-shooting/editing and creating news content for online platforms.

Esther Akinola is an enthusiastic advocate for diversity in influencer marketing, storytelling and creative marketing. She’s worked with Twitter, Facebook, PMI and Netflix. Esther completed her Creative Access internship as a multimedia journalist at The Sun Newspaper in 2016.

Serena Arthur is fiction editor at Trapeze Books, Orion (a division of Hachette UK), where she is editing and publishing books. She joined Orion in June 2022 after just under three years at another Hachette division – Headline – where she started as an editorial intern through Creative Access.

Callum Akass joined House Productions as Development Executive in March 2021 to work across their TV and film slates. He was a Creative Access trainee in 2016 at Blacklisted Films and Leopard Pictures (Argonon group) and gained his first TV credit as script editor on Mackenzie Crook’s Worzel Gummidge for Leopard, before joining Urban Myth Films to script edit the 8-part series The Lazarus Project for Sky.

How does storytelling come into your job?

An editor at Hachette, Serena makes a clear distinction between enabling storytelling and being a direct creator or writer. The former is what she does as an editor; she shapes stories and the way that they enter the world in those final steps before they’re in the hands of readers. On the other end of the creative spectrum, she writes her own poetry, and has found that the two things have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to her understanding of stories and the relationships she has formed with writers through publishing. It’s a huge bonus to approach stories from these two different directions.

Adding to this idea of being an ‘enabler’ for stories, Callum thinks that as someone who develops scripts he thrives on working in the shadows rather than the limelight, and explains how cathartic and satisfying it can be to bring about the final state of something like series Sherwood (BBC) or Lazarus Project (Sky) from that more supportive role.

Raveena has a very direct relationship with storytelling as a news reporter, as it’s her job to pull the concise narrative from events and present this to a wide audience. The approach needs to be accessible and easy to grasp because she wants people of all demographics to be able to connect and take something meaningful from the story in question.

How did you reach where you are today?

Esther says: I don’t know where my degree is. The biggest lesson she has learned as she progresses in her career is to successfully pitch herself to interviewers and prospective clients, something that’s critical as a self-employed content strategist.

She describes how important it is to stand out from your contemporaries, especially in an area like branded social media where people are often talking about very similar things, and to present your ideas through something like a pitch deck. Even if interviewers aren’t explicitly asking for a portfolio – bring something along! The insight that this gives people shouldn’t be underestimated.

Callum, on the other hand, focuses on how important it has been for him to build relationships with those in the industry. This doesn’t need to mean talking to people with decades of experience. At the beginning, Callum says he participated in a monthly writing group with peers that was helpful when it came to comparing experiences and understanding what other people were up to. In this way they began to form a collective knowledge and wider perspective on how the industry operates that you might not have by yourself. In his words, ‘not much writing got done.’ It’s always worth reaching out to people for a tea or coffee with this in mind.

But… what’s the job really like?

Serena talks about her transition from editorial assistant to editor and what these two roles entailed. Being an editorial assistant can often feel like being a project manager, and is heavy on administration and maintaining crystal clear internal communications between teams so that projects progress as they should – all while learning the publishing process from the work happening around you. Now an editor, she says that anyone expecting to hide behind a pile of manuscripts might be disappointed. The role is highly social! This includes being in close contact with agents, authors, and other departments.

For Esther, this one is difficult to answer because her role title has been something different at each stage of her career. She thrives on this because it means constantly challenging herself and developing more knowledge through this. Esther adds that you can be excited by the chance to grow the skills you already acquired aren’t currently being used, rather than feeling frustrated.

Working in TV and film, Callum that sometimes having early starts and longer hours means that he tries to follow advice from his old boss – make the most of the quiet moments. Find time to switch off from your area of expertise completely, even if you’re itching to catch up with the latest drama or comedy film.

A huge thanks to Raveena, Callum, Esther, and Serena for their thoughts and sage words!

Creative Access has a long-standing partnership with the National Theatre to enable people from under-represented communities to access careers in the world of theatre. 

Creative Access has worked whole-heartedly with the National Theatre. We have delivered masterclasses to sector-wide theatre groups for staff from ethnically diverse communities. We have also delivered “Managing Inclusive Cultures” training to 400 managers at the theatre “jam-packed with enough wisdom and insight to help us take the next steps on our journey.” 

Creative Access has enabled the National Theatre to significantly increase the ethnic diversity of its team over an 8 year period. We placed over 25 interns from under-represented communities in the team. 90% of these are still working in the theatre industry.  

Founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1963, the National Theatre of Great Britain is one of the UK’s most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues.

Jamie Body reports: “Mask theatre company Vamos Theatre has been awarded funding from the Mo Siewcharran Fund to launch an internship, as part of a drive to increase diversity in the theatre and publishing industries.”

Lauren Brown in The Bookseller reported: “Oneworld is one of four organisations to be awarded grants from the Mo Siewcharran fund in its latest round, the second time the independent publisher has received one of the grants.”

“Oneworld publisher and founder Juliet Mabey said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Creative Access once again. They have made, and are continuing to make, such an important contribution to the campaign to increase diversity and inclusivity in the creative industries.” 

The next round of funding is now available and closes on 11th November. Organisations interested are invited to email lucy@creativeaccess.org.uk to express interest.

The Mo Siewcharran Fund has announced the latest four grant awards; to charity The Poetry Society, Worcester-based Vamos Theatre, inclusive children’s fiction studio Storymix, and independent publishers, Oneworld. In its fourth year, the Mo Siewcharran Fund continues to support a unique breadth of organisations within the creative industries in its mission to enable young people from Black, Asian and ethnically-diverse backgrounds to break into publishing, theatre and music.

The Fund was set up in memory of Nielsen Books’ former Director of Marketing and Communications, Mo Siewcharran by her husband, John Seaton and is administered by Creative Access – a leading social enterprise specialising in diversity and inclusion. The grants contribute to the salary of an intern for a six-month traineeship and a full programme of support from Creative Access to ensure the trainee thrives in their new role.

Since the Mo Siewcharran Fund started in 2018, it has supported 27 ethnically-diverse trainees in publishing, theatre and music across the UK. A recent report into the impact of the Fund by Creative Access found that two-thirds (63%) of interns supported by the Fund stayed on at their host organisation at the end of their traineeship and 9 out of 10 (89%) trainees continued to work in the same sector where they did their traineeship.

Speaking on the Fund’s impact and the latest round of recipients, John Seaton said:

“In its fourth year the Mo Siewcharran Fund continues to do its bit to make workforces in the arts more ethnically diverse, representative and fairer.  It is thrilling to be associated with four such vibrant and en rapport companies as these. I am sure the interns will all have a wonderful and beneficial experience and will be supported via Creative Access to thrive in their careers”.

The Poetry Society is a charitable organisation which champions poetry for all ages. It is looking for a publishing & participation trainee to join the team. On receiving the Fund, Judith Palmer, Director at The Poetry Society says: “With the support of the Mo Siewcharran Fund, The Poetry Society is delighted to be able to work with Creative Access to offer a new dedicated publishing and participation trainee. The Poetry Society has a long history of working with young poets to transform their confidence and creative skills, and of widening access to poetry. We’re excited by the new opportunity this presents to make positive change to strength and diversify the arts sector workforce.”

The second recipient, Vamos Theatre is the UK’s leading full-mask theatre company. Vamos is seeking a learning and participation trainee to learn about the power and connection of mask theatre based on real life stories. Executive Producer at Vamos, Claire Morton comments: “We are thrilled to have been awarded funding from the Mo Siewcharran Fund. The grant will enable us to offer an internship within our Learning & Participation department to a young person from an under-represented community and we are delighted by the prospect of positive change this will bring to us as a company and to the young person’s future career. Support from Creative Access will help us take important steps in developing Vamos Theatre as a more representative arts organisation, impacting on our planning, our processes and working towards a more diverse future workforce. We look forward to offering our intern the best possible experience and a valuable stepping stone to the next stage of their career”

Storymix Studio – a fiction production company focusing on Black, Asian and ethnically-diverse voices in children’s fiction – have also been awarded the Fund. Jasmine Richards, Founder of Storymix states: “Finding and supporting BME talent is fundamental to Storymix’s mission of improving representation in the children’s book industry – both on the page and behind the scenes. We are a relatively new venture. The Mo Siewcharran grant from Creative Access will give us a much-needed intern to support our ever-growing book list and an opportunity to share our knowledge and expertise with a BME professional at the start of what we hope will be a long career in publishing.”

Finally, this is the second time that London-based independent publishers, Oneworld Publications, have received a grant from the Mo Siewcharran Fund. On receiving funding again Publisher and founder Juliet Mabey says: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Creative Access once again. They have made, and are continuing to make, such an important contribution to the campaign to increase diversity and inclusivity in the creative industries. We are especially grateful to the Mo Siewcharran Fund for their financial support in this work, which is facilitating publishers in their efforts to transform our industry so that it more truly represents the readers we serve.”

Are your finances affecting your wellbeing? Do you know how to budget? What’s the best way to pay off debt? For our July 2022 Creative Access masterclass on finance, we were joined by two brilliant panellists to tackle these questions and more.

Peter Komolafe is a financial expert and a content creator. Peter has been on a journey from foster care and being homeless to the executive team of a multinational Fortune 100 company in Canary Wharf. He is qualified as a Financial Adviser and a Mortgage Adviser, and has held key roles at numerous financial institutions.  Peter’s passion for the financial markets and his mission to demystify the unnecessarily complicated world of investing has led him to create Conversation of Money, a cross-channel platform with over a million viewers and listeners globally.

Interviewing Peter and bringing her own wisdom to each topic is Emma Munbodh, the Deputy Editor for The Times Money Mentor. Emma started out in the field as a Creative Access intern for MoneySavingExpert.com founded by Martin Lewis and has since been a journalist for more than a decade. Emma was formerly a money editor at the Daily Mirror, and has worked at The Independent, London Evening Standard, and Closer Magazine.

As Peter kicks off, he outlines what got him interested in talking and thinking money. His first motivation was experience, he says; at different stages of in his life, he has experienced poverty, homelessness, and massive debt. Now that his circumstances have changed, he wants to bring pragmatic information about personal finance that have helped him get to where he is to a wider audience. So what are the key points to take away?

Goals are a starting place, not just something to work up to. Peter encourages anyone who wants to gain better control over their finances to firstly identify a clear goal. Maybe this means paying off credit card debt, creating an emergency fund (3+ months of income to fall back on if needed) or maybe it’s saving to buy a house. The more specific the goal the better, as this allows you to set the figure you want to save and a realistic timeline to get there. Then it’s about working backwards to understand what balance you need to strike between spending and saving to get there.

Asked about what can be realistically achieved on a lower income, Peter says that you shouldn’t be put off planning for the future but it will take more time, and require discipline around spending. He quickly illustrates the way that income can be broken into three chunks: essential, discretionary, and savings. This is a simple way to visualise where your money is going and what you can afford to spend in your day to day while keeping faithful to long-term goals.

Find the right tools for you and start using them. The benefits of the digital age shouldn’t be overlooked, Peter points out. There are a lot of free resources out there, including on social media platforms, sites like MoneySavingExpert.com or Times Money Mentor, and video content like Peter’s own YouTube channel. Some banking services – including Monzo and Lloyd’s – offer the possibility of a ‘rounding up pot’ feature that brings all your transactions to the next pound above and automatically deposits the extra into your savings account. There are tonnes of useful tools out there and Peter stresses that it’s important to do your research and find out which products suit you.

Open up the conversation. The panellists agree that money can be a taboo conversation. But Emma is very direct in saying that, economically speaking, we’re in very strange times and this requires tackling the conversation head on. ‘Talking about money has never been so important; we’ll all be impacted by inflation and the cost of living.’ One approach for more honest and productive relationships when it comes to talking money is the idea of an ‘accountability buddy’. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of managing your personal finance, why not get someone else involved? Sharing your goals and checking in on your progress can be a great way to alleviate anxiety and form solidarity with someone who’s in a similar boat. Peter adds that your savings aspirations in themselves can be motivating and improve your relationship with money, because they allow you to look towards the future in a positive way.

Peter and Emma cover an enormous amount of ground in their conversation not covered in this article. What exactly is an emergency fund? How do you stay on top of your different income channels if you’re a freelancer? To side hustle or not to side hustle?

Watch the full discussion on our YouTube channel here to catch up on the whole conversation, including live questions from the audience.

A huge thanks to both Emma and Peter for joining us and sharing their financial wisdom!

It was brilliant for the Creative Access team to be back in one of our favourite UK cities Leeds for our northern careers showcase at ITV Yorkshire, with a fantastic panel of speakers including Rawan Elsa, archivist and publishing assistant at Peepal Tree Press, Rhianne Deans, editorial/clearance co-ordinator at Emmerdale, Shamima Noor, communications co-ordinator at Fuel Theatre, Sonny Hanley, controller of content services at ITV and Ayodele Ogunshakin, story liner at Coronation Street, hosted by Ian Cottrell, director of channel operations at ITV.  

Ian introduced sharing how he started out at ITV in 1999 with a degree in IT and was the first person in his family to go to university but didn’t know what to do next. Fast forward to 22 years later and he is now in a senior position at ITV Yorkshire.  

Meanwhile, Sonny knew what he wanted to do from the age of 9 – he wanted to grow up and make films. Luckily, he grew up in Leeds and felt that pursuing a career with ITV Yorkshire was a perfect fit for him. He shared how he started out making programmes and then switched into technology before moving into operations. He’s had three careers at ITV and has been at the organisation almost as long as Ian, for 18 years!  

Rhianne works on Emmerdale, one of ITV’s flagship shows filmed at ITV Leeds. The show has been going for over 50 years and we were even lucky enough to have a tour of the studio after the event. Rhianne’s role includes writing synopses of the scenes for press or for actors, collaborating with script editors and making script changes to ensure the scripts fit within allotted time. She got into the industry through an internship at Arrow Media through Creative Access, and before joining Emmerdale, she worked on Channel 4’s All Creatures Great and Small.  

Leeds local, Shamima works within theatre communications. She has been working in theatre for 5 years after starting her career with a traineeship through Creative Access in 2017 at Leeds Playhouse, after which she then worked for a few dance and theatre companies. Shamima grew up in Leeds, studied there and stayed on in the area to develop her career, proving that you can live outside London and develop a rich career in the creative industries. She works for a London based company and goes down to London about twice a month.  

Rawan is currently undertaking a PhD, alongside her work as an archivist and publishing assistant. She has a fascinating role and has spent the last few years archiving letters, documents and manuscripts for Peepal, an independent publishing specialising in African literature. She describes herself as wearing many hats, as she also runs an online book club making literature accessible to people beyond the UK.  

Ayodele worked at a summer camp in the US after university. She initially thought it was a bad decision, but the experience of working with children proved critical in her getting a role at Blue Peter. From there she moved up to studio assistant and after going to a Creative Access workshop on how to become a storyliner, she got her first break as an assistant storyliner on Coronation Street. She describes being a storyliner as an “odd position”. She works in a team of other storyliners, answering to the producer.  

“What have you done that’s outside the box? Utilise that!” – Rawan  

Our panel all cited the importance of transferable skills and experiences when trying to break into the creative industries. Shamima explained that in her first internship at Leeds Playhouse, they were mostly looking for passion for theatre and good personal skills. She’d worked on her student paper, been a student outreach officer, written a lot outside her degree, and handled the social media channels for societies she was a part of at university. She was able to marshal these skills into a CV and cover letter, which then got her the role.  

Rawan echoed this explaining: “experience is invaluable”. Even though her degrees are important and she’s enjoyed her academic journey, it was the internships and volunteering at places like Elizabeth Gaskell’s House that displayed her passion for history. Alongside this, she states that she identified people she admired and spoke to them on twitter, went to careers fairs and networking evets – all of which helped her land her roles.  

When it comes to specific roles, such as storylining, Ayo recommended watching lots of TV as ‘research’. She took on a runner role to expose her to the innerworkings of the TV industry, but she says: “Don’t discount the non-TV experience you have”. Lots of TV work is about teamwork and that can come from university, volunteering and roles outside the sector.  

“When people are open to a chat, they might be open to helping you find work, so take those chats seriously” – Ayo  

Networking is a key skill for finding work, mentors and even likeminded peers within the creative industry. Rhianne empathised that networking can be awkward, admitting that she used to be really bad at it, but she told our audience that they’d be surprised by how many people want to share their knowledge. People are busy so you shouldn’t feel worried about following up and reminding them. She also advised the audience to not confuse being formal with being professional – you can be jokey and show your personality which can then engage people and make you stand out.  

Shamima agreed explaining that these events are nerve-wracking, but you find your own rhythm. “Ffrom the start it was clear to me taking part in events was going to be key. After-parties after each event you should go to show you’re committed.”  Similarly, Ayo recommended thinking of networking as ‘connecting’ with people instead, which takes the pressure off the interaction.  

“You’re not just there because of luck. You’re there because you’ve excelled. If you trip up, pick yourself back up again” – Rawan 

On this note, our panel then began to discuss how imposter syndrome can manifest itself and how they overcome it. Rawan had some wonderful advice for our audience, she explained that she looks in the mirror and recites positive affirmations about herself to reassure herself. She suggested writing them down and even sticking them around your room when you’re feeling low.  

Rhianne and Sonny both work at ITV and have both found their networks within the organisation a great source of comfort when they have been feeling insecure in their positions or have had a bad day at work. Sonny told our audience to remember: “They chose you! If you don’t believe that, just go ask your manager.” 

Ayo actually did do this once during a period of low self-confidence at work. Her line manager told her that she was doing well, despite thinking otherwise. She told the audience to remember that that’s what your line manager is there for.  

“The perfect candidate doesn’t exist” – Sonny  

As for moving up in your creative career, Sonny said it is vital to step outside your comfort zone. “No one knows their job 100%, I’ve been here for 18 years and I still don’t know anything”, he said. He continued that therefore, when he’s hiring, he always hires 80% – he knows that no one is going to have every single skill needed but if the confidence and passion is there that will see you through.  

Rhianne agreed and explained that of course knowledge and skills are important, but the most important thing is how you fit into a team. If you work within an organisation that has many teams and you want to take a sideways step, Rhianne recommended utilising the network you have within the company and getting to know the roles and the team dynamics to help you. 

“There’s no set time frame! If you want to do it, it’ll happen” – Rhianne 

Finally, our audience asked our panel about the age-old problem of rejection. Rhianne stated that unfortunately, rejection is part of the industry and you do have to grow a thick skin however, she continued, there are lots of people who want to help you so make sure you keep making those connections. While Rawan suggested that “rejection can help you take a step back and reassess what you really want.” 

Thank you so much to our wonderful panel for their insights into their respective fields and highlighting the breadth of roles on offer in the creative industries in the North, as well as to our audience for coming along and asking such important questions!  

Hachette UK has announced its 2022 traineeship programme, partnering for the second year with literary agency Curtis Brown and booksellers Waterstones. It will open for applications today, with 10 trainees joining Hachette UK at the end of October for the year-long programme. Hachette UK will again be working with Creative Access, the leading social enterprise in progressive career development and support, to recruit exceptional talent from under-represented groups, with all applications for the traineeship being made via the Creative Access website.

The trainees will spend the year within one of Hachette UK’s publishing divisions, the central function teams or the education business, specialising in either editorial, digital marketing, publicity, audio, operations, sales, communications, production or rights. Those specialising in editorial will spend a month of their traineeship at Curtis Brown to learn how to represent authors and matchmake them with publishers. All the trainees will spend a month at Waterstones to learn the art of bookselling and to understand consumer buying behaviour and will also participate in a bespoke learning and development programme, with the opportunity to learn about the journey of publishing a book from pitch to production.

This will be Hachette UK’s fifth intake of trainees and the programme will continue to focus on making publishing more accessible to under-represented groups, as part of the publisher’s ‘Changing the Story’ vision for diversity and inclusion. It is actively seeking applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds and particularly men from both of these backgrounds, to improve the representation of these groups in Hachette UK’s staff base.

Lisa Waterman, Group HR Director at Hachette UK, commented: “Our traineeship in partnership with Curtis Brown and Waterstones has been such a successful initiative as part of our Changing the Story programme and further strengthens our ongoing commitment to inclusion. This innovative scheme, originally conceived by Sharmaine Lovegrove, patron of Changing the Story, gives our trainees direct contact with our publishers, authors, agents and ultimately our readers to give them an incredible introduction to the industry. Our 2021-22 cohort of trainees have been such a success and we hope this experience has given them the broad knowledge to build brilliant careers in publishing. It demonstrates that when we work together as an industry, we can make a lasting and positive change.”

Josie Dobrin, CEO at Creative Access, commented: “We are delighted to once again be partnering with Hachette UK to offer 10 incredible paid traineeships across its divisions for talent from groups under-represented in the creative industries. The placements will give the successful applicants a year of experience working in publishing across different areas of the industry, providing them with the ideal foundation to thrive in a long-term publishing career.”

Kate Skipper, Chief Operating Officer at Waterstones, commented: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Hachette UK for the second intake of their industry-leading trainee programme, which provides such a vital new route into the industry. We can’t wait to welcome this year’s trainees into our shops, with the aim of providing a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a bookshop tick and allowing trainees to experience the thrill of putting a book into a customer’s hands. We hope the experience will prove invaluable for those at the start of exciting publishing careers, offering a glimpse of bookshop magic and some understanding of the passion which drives booksellers.”

Felicity Blunt, Literary Agent at Curtis Brown, commented: “It is an honour to get to continue to work with Hachette UK for the second year of their traineeship scheme. The candidates they placed with us in year one were singularly impressive and dynamic, with so much to offer the industry. Curtis Brown places each candidate with an agent and office that is aligned with their reading interests. The trainees are exposed to a variety of deal-making, client care and editorial process. As this element sits alongside the experience of working for a publishing house and a bookseller, we believe the Hachette UK traineeship scheme offers individuals a deep understanding of the publishing ecosystem as a whole, allowing them to zero in on the facet that most appeals to them.”

The second phase of our ‘The Verge’ research in December 2021 looked at changes in financial and job stability for people working in the creative industries as a result of the pandemic. Key findings included:

• Financial stability has declined – in May 2020 53% said they had enough money to live on versus 42% in 2021
• 45% said their mental health had been negatively impacted – rising to 64% amongst those with a disability
• 42% said their ability to save money had been negatively impacted
• 25% said it had negatively impacted their job security
• Over 10% have had to re-locate due to Covid-19 to find work – 48% re-located to London/the South-East showing how important it is for employers to support housing costs in the capital

But there was some positive news:

• A third (33% said their mental health had been positively impacted through greater flexibility and time at home
• A third (36%) said the pandemic had a positive impact in giving them more time for hobbies and interests outside work
• 30% said they felt their creativity had been positively impacted

Read in full here.