Here at Creative Access, we had the pleasure of speaking to British feminist queer illustrator Florence Given about her debut book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, as well as her activism and using your platform to incite change.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I’m 21 years old, I’m a white cis queer woman, I live in London, I’m an artist, author and illustrator and I dedicate my entire life and my work to unpacking societies long-held beliefs, particularly the ones that exist in my own mind about myself, my identity, and what I’ve been taught to believe about others! I want to poke holes in the heteronormative façade that has encouraged women to sacrifice themselves and abandon their desires for validation, particularly validation from men. This particular view on feminism was born from leaving an abusive relationship, one I didn’t recognise as abusive until much later. I aim to encourage women to spot these red flags so they’re able to hopefully avoid these situations before it’s too late and they’re in the fog of emotional manipulation.

Q: People know you for your vibrant illustrations and passionate activism. Did one inspire the other or had you always wanted to be an artist?

I have been making artwork since I was about 14 years old for my art GCSE, where I was creating illustrations and paintings of naked women with wonky tits! Although it wasn’t intentionally political at this time. I think my first ‘catalyst’ for introspection was when I separated from the clique I was in at school. I didn’t like the person I had to become just to ‘keep my place’ in the group and once I was out of it that’s when I started to tap into my own self – through isolation. A lot of realisations were born from making that decision that inform my art today. I stopped viewing women as people to tear down in order to make myself feel better, empathised with their pain, and learned how to navigate their projections to cope with the bullying. I journaled in my diary about my experiences and these uncomfortable truths for years. It wasn’t until I went to art college that I decided to do this with slogans, as I also then learned the terms ‘sexual assault’ and ‘sexual harassment’ and quickly became charged with rage at how normalised this behaviour was, and how I’d experienced it so many times before.

Q: What is Women Don’t Owe You Pretty about?

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is an exploration of interpersonal relationships through a feminist lens, and a book that I hope encourages accountability for our actions and our beliefs, as well as pointing the finger at patriarchy/racism/capitalism. Because those systems exist inside of ourselves, too.

It’s a book full of lessons I learned the hard way through making mistakes, through inflicting my unhealed wounds onto others, or having someone’s unhealed wounds projected and inflicted onto me. I research a lot of psychology articles and listen to podcasts of therapists to better understand my experiences, and the lessons I drew from my experiences are in this book! A lot of the time these wounds we have and take out on others are caused by systems of oppression, and in my case, I inflicted a lot of wounds and insecurities I had about myself from patriarchy onto other women, to make me feel better about myself and my supposed “flaws”. The feedback I’ve had about my book so far is that the chapter on internalised misogyny (“refuse to find comfort in other women’s flaws”) was the hardest and most uncomfortable to read – and I’m so glad. I cringe thinking about the person I used to be, and how still to this day I have intrusive thoughts about women that enter my brain! I talk a lot in my book about how to deal with this and how to cut these thoughts short.

Q: You warn your readers that the book is “full of uncomfortable truths”, were these what led you to writing your book?

Yes. I’m no longer a person who’s afraid to dive deep and face myself, and that’s part of why I’m able to spend so much time alone and as a result, protect my space! Because if I don’t mind being alone, it means I’m less likely to entertain people who seek to use, abuse or mistreat me just because being the comfort of being in a relationship makes me feel validated or ‘loved’. Because I already feel loved by someone – myself. I have spent years surrounding myself with people who weren’t healthy for me or my growth, purely because they helped to distract me from facing and healing my wounds. The thought of doing that and being alone was the most frightening thing on earth! I chased distractions, in order to avoid facing whatever insecurity inside me needed looking after and examining. I learn multiple uncomfortable truths about myself through my relationships with others. I fucking love human beings. I love working together to understand each other better. The people in my life support me and enhance my growth, and part of that involves calling each other in, on behaviours that are harmful.

Q: How important is it for you to use your platform to highlight social issues?

My platform was built on shouting about social issues and my experiences, so for me, it’s the most natural way to use my platform! I think it’s incredibly important that we use whatever voice we have to incite change. Platforms don’t have to be thousands of Instagram followers, it could be your family household. That’s your platform, open their minds!

Q: How politicised do you think art can be and what is your advice for aspiring artists?

Art can be as political as it wants and needs to be. Everything is political. Even shagging is political!
My advice to aspiring artists is to make work that draws from your personal experiences.

Q: How has life in lockdown been treating you?

I’ve been going on lots of bike rides and breaking down some internal confidence barriers I didn’t even know existed as a result of this. I’ve been searching deep into myself, facing all the ‘ugly’, working through old behaviour patterns, and allowing myself to be slow too.

Florence Given’s debut book Women Don’t Owe You Pretty published by Cassell, £12.99 hardback, is available to order now.

This post is written by three people with disabilities who work in academic publishing – Simon Holt (Senior Acquisitions Editor, Elsevier) is visually impaired, Katy Alexander (Global Director for Marketing and Communications, Digital Science) has dyslexia, and Becky Degler (Digital Product Manager, Wiley) has chronic migraine.

Diversity is finally at the forefront of the agenda for many creative organisations. This post explores the importance of making the publishing industry accessible to people from all backgrounds and walks of life. In a recent survey by the UK Publishers Association, just 5.4% of respondents indicated that they have a disability, compared with 15% of the global population. We also know that people with disabilities of working age are 30% less likely to have a job than the rest of the population, both in the US and UK. The UN suggests that the picture is similar (or worse) in other parts of the world.

Why is this the case? The answer lies somewhere between culture and awareness:

Simon: There are barriers to entry within the publishing industry that disproportionally affect people with disabilities. For example, as a visually impaired person, I was once asked to do a proofreading test at an interview for a Development Editor job with no proofreading responsibilities (I was told it was needed to demonstrate ‘basic publishing skills’). There are certainly challenges that arise as a result of having a disability, but there are also lots of skills I have gained, too. The thing that I want to make clear is that I haven’t been successful *despite* my disability; I’m successful *because* of my disability, and the adaptability, resourcefulness and efficiency that has given me. These are all things that help me at work.

Becky:  People with disabilities often face double discrimination: there are barriers to gaining and staying within employment, but also to earning potential and career progression. For example, as a person with chronic migraine, I’ve encountered prosaic versions of ‘someone who is frequently sick cannot be as productive as a healthy ‘normal’ employee’; ‘if stress is a migraine trigger, then you’ll never be able to cope with the increased responsibilities’; and ‘if you can’t put in overtime then there’s a limit to your progression.’ Managing stress effectively is what I do to survive. Progressive roles shouldn’t be off-limits because of my disability. In fact, the skills I’ve acquired through it can be differentiators that help me — and the company — thrive.

Katy: From my own experience and what I’ve observed of friends and colleagues with disabilities who have established themselves within the industry, I think there are several key traits that can support success. Skill Number 1) Grit: growing up with dyslexia teaches perseverance; constant effort is required to overcome obstacles or challenges that are part of my everyday life. Skill Number 2) Creativity: being dyslexic means thinking outside the box — we dyslexics just have to. For small and large organisations alike the ability to come at problems from a different perspective can support innovation. Skill Number 3) Relationships and Professional Development: I care very deeply about what motivates the people I work with and how I can help them succeed. In part, I’m sure this is because I didn’t experience this type of support myself.

So how do we change perceptions and grow representation in the industry? Simon, Becky and Katy emphasise that the answer is in changing our attitude and policies. We need to stop focusing on the ‘dis’ in disability and focus more on the ‘ability’. The message is that disability inclusion is about engaging with a sector of society who are currently underrepresented in our workforce, recognising the skills that we can offer– skills that we have because of, not despite, the fact that we have a disability. Most of all, it’s about solving problems together to find creative solutions that benefit everybody – as people with disabilities, that is simply what we do.

Check out the original post on Scholarly Kitchen here.

Here at Creative Access, we had the privilege of speaking to the multi-talented Ingrid Persaud, author of the stunning new novel, Love After Love. Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the BBC Short Story Award, Ingrid gave us an exclusive interview all about her journey from law to fine art to writing, and shares her wisdom for aspiring authors.

Q: Tell us about your background?

I am a Trini to the bone – born and lived there until I was eighteen. Since then London has been my home and I also spend time in Barbados. Regardless of where I am physically my heart and navel string are firmly in Trinidad.

Q: You’re a woman of many talents, from law to fine art. Why did you decide to start writing?

I took my cool time getting to writing. For decades I was hustling with this thing and that thing and never completely at peace with myself. It was only when I moved to Barbados and desperate to carve out a creative space that I turned to writing fiction. It was portable and fitted with my other commitments. Now I’m privileged to write full time.

Q: What is Love After Love about?

It’s the story of an unconventional family – Betty a widow, Solo her son and Mr Chetan their lodger. All is well until one night, after a few glasses of rum, secrets are revealed that tear them apart. To mend a broken family takes all kinds of love – starting with love of the self. Love After Love borrows its title from the poem by Dereck Walcott. If you haven’t read it yet go now. I don’t know what you’re waiting for.

Q: Have you started your next book yet? If so, what’s it on?

I am always writing. When I’m not writing I am thinking about writing. Maybe what I’m working on now will come together and form the next novel. Or not. I’m prepared to discard work if it isn’t good enough.

Q: What do you think about representation of diversity in literature in the UK?

Serious talk now. What we read and who we read moulds us so we can’t let this issue slide. Diversity in literature suffers from both under-representation and misrepresentation.

The under-representation is stark. Statistics show that less than 5% of characters in children’s books are BAME. Fewer BAME writers are being published since 2000 than the previous two decades. Indeed, the Jhalak Prize was created specifically to raise the profile of BAME writers in Britain.

As that wasn’t bad enough we have a next challenge – misrepresentation. Once your name looking little ethnic your work is immediately exotic – “multicultural literature” or “world literature” or some other subset that gets put on the back shelves. It’s hard to simply be considered as writing literature and to have your work compared to your peers regardless of ethnicity.

Q: What’s your advice for aspiring authors?

Respect yourself and your work. That means showing up at your desk and writing every day. Yes, every single day even if it’s for 15 minutes or half hour. None of this waiting for the muse business. For all you know the muse self-isolating. And read, read, read. It’s that simple and that hard.

Q: Something we won’t find out about you from following you on Twitter!

Decide what you’re willing to reveal on social media and leave out the rest. I tweet mainly book related content and a bit of politics. Otherwise, you see me? I keeping myself quiet. But if I had to tell you something personal…Is shame I shame. I’m the only Trini who can’t dance. How I born without rhythm I’ll never understand.

You can buy a copy of Love After Love here.

By Nelima Begum, Editorial & Marketing Assistant at The Literary Consultancy

I’ve always thought the road to ‘success’ was a straight line – you get good grades in school, graduate from university and suddenly the universe will just deem you worthy of your dream job and you get to live your best life. No. Maybe some of you already knew before graduating but I sure didn’t – looking for ANY kind of job post-uni is difficult, let alone the one you want to pursue a long-term career in! And if that career is in a creative industry, well, you may be in for a bumpy ride. When I graduated with an English degree in 2017 (why does that feel like centuries ago now?!), I was having an existential crisis every other day thinking about my career, what I wanted, how far I’d like to go and who I’d want to work for. I. Was. A. Mess. Looking back on it now, those feelings were totally normal – you can’t make a decision like that in a day. When I sat down and made a mind map of things I was interested in, spoke to people about my options and spent many a late night in bed staring at the ceiling, I decided that more than anything, I wanted to work with books. They’d shaped me, changed my outlook on the world and I wanted to be a part of the industry that churned them out: publishing.

How? How does one get into publishing? It was like I’d just decided and now I didn’t know where to go. I started with creating a LinkedIn and then progressed to the jungle that is Indeed.co.uk. Neither really gave me anything substantial and so I thought to Google publishing houses and apply directly through their websites and portals. To keep track of everything, I made a spreadsheet of EVERY job I applied to and had columns for whether I got an interview and whether or not I received an offer. Each stage of progress was marked by red, amber and green boxes and after a while, I realised that the whole spreadsheet was red. All of it. What was I doing wrong? I made it a mission to get in first with every vacancy but everything just got so overwhelming – why were there so many areas in publishing, which role was I best-suited to? I thought you just needed to love books? No one wanted to hire me without experience but no one was giving me the opportunity to gain experience either. It felt like the biggest catch-22 and after a bag of rejections a few train wreck interviews, I was almost ready to give up and NEVER look at another publishing job description again.

Then, just like those moments in cartoons where the clouds part to allow a big ray of sunshine to come through and the birds start singing, a friend of mine told me about a handy little (not little at all) organisation called Creative Access which is dedicated to creating diversity and inclusion in the UK’s creative sectors. Plagued with disappointment, I felt like this was my lifeline and started looking at the opportunities page on their website. I was amazed to say the least – so many vacancies with such big, reputable names in a variety of industries! I starting applying like no tomorrow and was pleased to see my CV and cover letter going further than it ever had before. Suddenly, I was interviewing with places like Bloomsbury and Pan Macmillan! Each interview taught me something different so even if I wasn’t getting the job, I was still getting better each time and growing in confidence, too. I found myself checking the Creative Access website pretty much every day and becoming more optimistic with each application.

Suddenly I landed my first role in publishing – Submissions Administrator for The Future Bookshelf, a creative writing initiative being run across four imprints within Hachette UK, which sought to encourage submissions from writers from under-represented backgrounds. It was something that spoke to my heart and I was over the moon to get it! While there, I had a fantastic manager who, knowing it was my first job, did everything to make sure I got as much experience and exposure to the industry as possible. I was reading submissions, co-ordinating readings for colleagues, getting involved with social media and even putting data together for team meetings. I loved every minute of it and was trying to learn as much as I could. I got to sit in on meetings, have one-to-one chats with people from every department and even pick up skills in copy-editing and proofreading. It was an incredible first job because I had the opportunity to learn a bit of everything and network with smart, creative and talented people who had worked on incredible books. At that point, I’d decided I wanted to work in editorial. Even though I was sad to see my contract end after six months, I knew I had enough to apply for another job. Back to the Creative Access website I went.

My second job was at HarperCollins; I’d applied for their BAME traineeship (through the Creative Access website, obviously) and after 2-3 rounds of interviews and a terrifying presentation in front of company executives, I got a rejection. It was a bitter feeling to say the least BUT, they liked how I came across and kept me in the pipeline, regularly sending me and other candidates they’d liked but not hired, vacancies before they went live on the website. That’s how I landed my second job – Marketing Intern at Avon, a commercial imprint publishing everything from women’s fiction to crime and thrillers. It was great – different, but great! How I’d ended up in marketing, I wasn’t sure but because it was such early stages of my career, I thought to be open to everything. I learnt LOTS when I was at Avon; Photoshop, creating digital content, helping out with marketing campaigns, reading submissions with the team and learning all things social media. It was wonderful but it was another six-month contract and I was nearing the end. At the time, there weren’t any other permanent jobs going, so I thought to do what I always do: go back to the Creative Access website!

Then I saw it – an entry-level role with The Literary Consultancy (TLC), an editorial consultancy based in Farringdon which prides itself on working with writers of all kinds and providing a variety of services, hosting events and creating content dedicated to their development and success. They were hiring an editorial and marketing assistant and I went for it. I feel like my previous roles had prepared me for this moment – editorial AND marketing? It HAD to be for me. I was abroad the week that they were interviewing, but the team were lovely enough to interview me via Skype! I felt very lucky and to this day, am full of gratitude for their time and consideration. Long story short, I got the job and was over the moon. I bid farewell to the lovely folk at Avon and began my new venture at TLC.

I’ve been working with TLC for almost a year now, and there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t feel blessed to be here. I have an incredible team (see pictured) who are so dedicated to overseeing my professional development and are forever creating opportunities for me to get involved with whatever crazy, cool, creative project they’re working on next (watch this space for something exciting in the coming months which yours truly will be doing!) I love working with writers as well as our team of industry experts, having fun with TLC social media, getting involved with marketing campaigns and events and everything in between. This job is a dream and I wouldn’t have this (or any of my previous jobs) without Creative Access. They are an incredible resource and have been a beacon of hope for me for almost two years now! An incredible organisation, I have hope that thanks to their tireless efforts and dedication, creative industries WILL reflect society and WILL progress for generations to come.

Sometimes I feel like my way in was just a happy accident and other times, when I’m being contemplative and thoughtful, it feels like the stars had aligned and I got what was meant for me. My point is that success is NOT linear, but you should enjoy the journey and learn all that you can from it. Every job was a stepping stone and gave me a wealth of experience and knowledge, each one developing me more than the previous role. I’m incredibly excited for my future at TLC and can’t wait to see what else comes my way. My advice to applicants, job-hunters and publishing hopefuls is to work hard (network, volunteer and put yourself out there), be patient, remain optimistic and know that it will happen for you when the time is right…

Oh, and check the Creative Access website on the daily – in case it wasn’t obvious ????

Have a publishing interview coming up but have no clue what to expect? We caught up with our former Harlequin UK intern – turned Head of Zeus Commissioning Editor, and now the Editorial Director for Orion Books, Rhea Kurien, to ask her about her top tips for acing those interview questions…

1. Tell me a little about yourself and your experience to date.

They ask this 9 times out of 10, so do think carefully about how you present yourself. Try and be succinct and tailor your answer to the job you’re applying for. It’s a question that trips a lot of people up, so it’s worth practising this one out loud so you don’t blank when asked.

2. Why do you want to work for us?

Be specific – show them that you know their list, have read their biggest books and are keeping abreast of what exciting things they are doing. Don’t just read their website (websites are usually out of date), really study their social media feeds and search for articles about them on The Bookseller. What are they doing that you feel really passionately about?

3. What have you read recently and really loved?

If you’re fresh out of university, I know it can be difficult to think of any books beyond what you read on your course. However, to work in publishing (especially editorial, marketing and PR), it is crucial that you have read books that have been published in the last year or so. Go into bookshops and see what books are charting, compare that to the kind of books that are featured in supermarkets, look at the Kindle bestsellers on Amazon as often as you can, and then read read read.

Here is a chance to showcase that you have read books on their list, do try and read a couple of their big books of the last couple of months.

4. What is a recent marketing campaign that really stood out to you, and why?

This will depend entirely on which area of publishing you’re looking to go into e.g. commercial, literary or academic. A couple of stand out campaigns for commercial fiction in the last year or so are Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare. Lots of pre-publication buzz, a really standout and high concept package, great endorsements from other authors and trade publications, lots of visibility both digitally and on the ground e.g. tube advertisements for Queenie at Brixton station. A similar non-fiction example is Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women. With literary fiction, two examples are Margaret Atwood’s Testaments and Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light (did you see when they placed the Wolf Hall Tudor rose emblem on a billboard in Leicester Square?).

You don’t have to use an example from the publisher you’re applying to – they want to know you know the wider market.

4. Why should I consider hiring you?/What makes you the right candidate for this role?

Here, you want to do the same thing you should have done for your cover letter: refer to the job description. Pick out key phrases from this, boring but important things like good at meeting deadlines, managing conflicting priorities, good people skills, and yes, ultimately, that you love and are excited by the idea of seeing a book from concept to finished product.

5. What have been your major achievements to date?

This doesn’t always come up, but if it does, don’t be afraid. It doesn’t have to be work-related, you can talk about something you did at university or something you achieved outside of work or study. Having other interests is a good thing, and having an example that shows you are capable of taking initiative is even better.

6. Any questions?

Always prepare at least three questions for this. You want the interview to be a conversation. Something I always like to ask is which books the interviewers are really excited about publishing this year.

Competency-based questions

With entry-level positions, there is really only so much they can quiz you about the industry. For the most part, if you’ve got to the interview stage, they already think you’re qualified. They just want to know if your work style will fit in with their team. That’s where competency-based questions come in, things like ‘give me an example of when you had to juggle conflicting priorities’ or ‘tell me about a time that you had to handle a difficult client’. This guide will help you construct your answers in this format: the situation, the obstacle you had to overcome, your strategy, and the (successful) outcome.

Your examples can be from situations you faced at university, any part-time jobs, or even previous internships. It doesn’t matter, the important thing is that you highlight that you know how to handle difficult situations. Publishing is all about working to really tight deadlines, working with lots of different people, and multi-tasking so show them you can do these things.

Final tips for interviews

Be your amazing and authentic self, make good eye contact, smile and be enthusiastic about being there, drink water when your mouth gets dry, don’t panic if you need a minute to think about your answer before you reply, and thank them for their time.

In honour of Jessica Kingsley Publisher’s upcoming book ‘The Bigger Book of Amazing Dyslexics’, we spoke to authors Kathy Forsyth and Kate Power about the incredible work that dyslexic people do across all the creative industries!

Welcome to the colourful world of dyslexia.

Looking to inspire our teenage dyslexics through secondary school and college, we spent three years interviewing amazing dyslexics about the jobs they do. It was an incredible and inspiring experience to meet over fifty happy and successful amazing dyslexics working in a wide range of jobs – from a top London surgeon to a Royal ballet choreographer, and a few famous faces too… The project resulted in a design-led book showing the amazing dyslexics pictured in their working environments alongside their interviews. The wonderful fashion designer Paul Smith supported the project and wrote the foreword to ‘The Bigger Picture Book of Amazing Dyslexics and The Jobs They Do’.

The thing that all these amazing dyslexics share is that they have found careers they love, they have explored subjects and pursuits that they are passionate about, and carved out niche careers for themselves, careers from football to writing for a living. The key is to identify what you are good at and enjoy, to find projects that energise you rather than drain you. Once you know what you’re amazing at, look at what you may struggle with, and find people to work with that can do what you can’t, and vice versa… collaboration is a dyslexic’s best friend!

We talked to our amazing dyslexics about their top tips, what gets them in a pickle and what makes them burst with pride. As a dyslexic is important to know your challenges and build your toolbox of coping strategies and technologies available that make life easier. It’s the ideas that are important, leave ‘spellcheck’ to check the spelling! Our first book ‘The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and Its Amazing People’ is an easy way to understand how dyslexia affects you, which provides some useful top tips.

At school, we only study around fifteen subjects, but there are thousands of jobs available using more than these topics. At school, you’re not tested on key skills like empathy or collaborating which are so valuable in the world of work. In this new digital age, new jobs emerge all the time, your perfect job may not have been created yet. Recent research commissioned shows that the things that many dyslexics are good at are needed for the future job market. There’s never been a better time to be dyslexic!

It’s time to change the negative perception of dyslexia and to embrace the skill set and divergent thinking of dyslexics. “Your time has come,” says educational psychologist Katherine Sharkey.

Dyslexia is a different way of learning and thinking and affects everybody differently, it can be mild or severe. About 1 in 10 people are dyslexic, and it’s commonplace in the creative industries where thinking differently is embraced. Sebastian Conran, son of design guru Sir Terrance Conran noted: “In the design industry it’s actually a stigma if you’re not dyslexic.” Lots of entrepreneurs are proudly dyslexic too.

We also interviewed experts in the field of dyslexia, like Professor John Stein FMedSci. Professor & Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford who has said he “wouldn’t want to cure dyslexia; it comes with too many good things.”

Dyslexic strengths are more recognised with companies looking for big picture thinkers. Matt Boyd runs Exceptional Individuals, an employment agency for dyslexics (and other neurodivergent thinkers), it provides support and educates employers about how great minds think different.

Marketing Director at Direct Line Mark Evans believes that “dyslexia is the next big thing in the talent conversation.”

Read more in ‘The Bigger Picture Book of Amazing Dyslexics and The Jobs They Do’ publication date May 2020. You can pre-order your copy here.

From Parks & Rec to professional publication, our former Creative Access intern at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mariam Khan, writes about her career journey to date and what led her to releasing her debut book ‘It’s Not About The Burqa’…

After leaving University, I knew I wanted to be involved in publishing but I didn’t have any connections in that field despite being incredibly involved in the young adult fiction community. I was getting to know people who worked in that industry but unsure as to how to make those people into connections or those connections into anything related to a role in publishing. Blindly sending my CV and cover letter out wasn’t working.

I landed a role at the Royal Shakespeare Company through Creative Access and I was more than willing to give it a try. That was my step into working world as a graduate. It was one of the steepest learning curves for me. The lack of diversity in the places I worked after I left University was shocking. There weren’t many people like me working in the spaces I was occupying. But each month there was the Creative Access masterclasses in London, where often people from Black, Asian and ethnically-diverse backgrounds placed across the creative industries talked about their experiences and journeys. Seeing is believing and seeing those people in their respective roles helped me realise that there were spaces being created for people like me, even if it was people like me creating them.

I was making strides into publishing even whilst I worked outside of publishing. As my internship came to an end at the RSC, I decided that moving to London and getting a job in publishing was the way forward. I interned without pay for a few months, slept on friends sofas and beds. It worked out in the end cause I got a job in publishing.

Working in publishing was on of the reasons I was able to say out loud ‘I want to write a book that represents the diversity Muslim Women identity’. I wanted to deconstruct the narrative around Muslim women built by media and culture and make something on our own terms. I wanted to make Muslim women speaking for themselves the norm. In the process I thought about how I’d come to be in the place I was.

I didn’t want to publish a book about Muslim Women all by myself; I wanted to create a shared platform where as many Muslim Women as possible could speak up about their experiences and be heard and in creating It’s Not About The Burqa, I think I’m doing that.

Mariam Khan is a British writer and activist, the editor of It’s Not About the Burqa, an anthology of essays by Muslim women published by Picador. She currently lives in Birmingham and works in education.

Twitter: helloiammariam

Instagram: helloiammariam

You can purchase It’s Not About the Burqa here.

In part two of our feature on mentoring, Nicole Gordon, former Creative Access intern and Sales Administrator at Pan Macmillan, writes about her career journey to date and what she has both given to and taken from the mentoring partnership

As a Creative Access alumni with over two years of publishing experience, I was allocated a mentor via the Creative Access Mentoring Scheme in January. The Development Scheme pairs alumni, which total over 150 BAME individuals in publishing, with senior publishing professionals from across the UK. I was thrilled to benefit from the insight and experience of my mentor, who is a Managing Director at Penguin Random House.

Looking back, as a student at The Royal Docks School and later at the University of Leicester, I tenaciously sought experience in the creative industries, completing internships during my summer breaks at The Guardian, and during term time at the University’s Press Office and the local newspaper The Leicester Mercury. When I returned from a study abroad year at the University of Heidelberg, I attended a Creative Access Showcase and it was inspiring to meet an array of current Creative Access interns thoroughly enjoying their placements at media organisations such as ITV, HarperCollins and the BBC among others.

I was subsequently motivated to apply for a publishing internship in 2015 when I was invited to an event at London Book Fair jointly hosted by Creative Access and the Publishers Association. The focus day, during which I met with publishers and publishing interns, introduced me to the array of careers within publishing.

Ahead of my graduation that summer I was elated to secure a six-month placement at Pan Macmillan in International Sales. A highlight of the internship was being invited to attend Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest trade show for books, where I was able to use my German skills! Fortunately, at the end of my internship with Pan Macmillan the position of Sales Administrator arose in UK Sales; a busy, good-natured team that I have enjoyed working with for over two years.

Two years on, having gained fantastic foundational experience in publishing, I felt that a mentor would offer me continued support as I looked toward the next stages of my career.

In particular, I debated whether to continue developing my career in Sales, or broaden my experience by entering an entirely new area of publishing. My mentorship was highly effective. I met with my mentor every month, and we communicated via email in between our catch ups too. To maximise our meetings I set an agenda. The topics I selected depended on which areas of my career I felt that I needed more guidance on, for example, ‘Building A Personal Brand’ and ‘Networking’. Deciding on themes ahead of our meetings provided a springboard for further discussion, and sharing notes with my mentor following our meetings was also key as it helped me to set action points to further my development outside of our catch ups. Another brilliant aspect of the mentoring scheme was the sustained support I received.

When I decided to pursue a career in Rights, the added reassurance and insight provided by mentor strengthened my resolve to pursue an alternative pathway in publishing. Ultimately, having a mentor gave me a dedicated space in which to develop and share ideas and it further motivated me to pursue my career aspirations. Since beginning my mentorship I have secured a new role as a Rights and Media Assistant at The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency. The insights provided by my mentor encouraged me to articulate what I desired in my next role. Specifically, working more closely with authors and their literature, employing my love of negotiating and rapport building – combined with an international outlook! I am fortunate that I was able to benefit from the guidance of a mentor which has helped me to advance in my career.

A mentoring partnership works both ways and there are a few things you can do to make it a really fruitful relationship. Here are my top tips:

• Set an achievable goal of what you would like to achieve during your mentorship.
• Set out the topics of discussions ahead of your meetings. It will be a good launch pad for discussion and shows you are actively taking responsibility for your development.
• Take notes during or soon after your meetings and share them with your mentor to help track your progress.
• Set action points to work on ahead of your next meeting.
• Communicate with your mentor in between meetings if you would like career advice. Your mentor is most likely best placed to offer advice!
• The above also includes sharing good news, for instance, if your application for a fantastic role has been shortlisted. Sharing feedback throughout your journey will bolster your confidence and can lead to invaluable guidance.
• Enjoy the experience of building a rapport with your mentor. Knowing their career journey may help you reflect on your own pathway.
• Be open minded about your career progression. If your career goals shift during your mentorship it is a good sign as it indicates that you are honing in on your skills, experience and aspirations.

Twitter: @nickysgordon

In part one of our feature on mentoring, Hannah Telfer, a Managing Director at a leading publisher, reflects on what she both takes from and brings to the mentoring partnership…

Somehow, in the formal language of mentors and mentees, we struggle to convey the real value that comes from two people, at different stages of their careers but equally passionate, spending time together and listening to each other.

Chemistry is everything in a successful mentoring relationship and it’s critical to ask at the start if you’re the right match – and to be pragmatic about walking away if the answer is no.

But if you think you can help, do. I’ve been fortunate to be mentored at various stages of my career and every time it’s helped me to think more clearly, to consider a different way forward and to be bolder. And every mentee I’ve worked with has reminded me what it’s like to navigate those first years of your career. It’s made me more empathetic with my own team. And it’s given me invaluable insight into what matters to a generation that does, sometimes, think differently to my own.

Now, as the head of a large team with broad expertise, I can better see the benefits of our differences but also the common ground; the places where we all unite and from which we build.

Let’s face it a little emotional intelligence goes a long way but it can be hard to develop in the maelstrom of the workplace. Conversations between mentors and mentees often path the way for the tough conversations that need to be had at work. They offer the safe space to test out approaches and explore scenarios. These are the places to broaden horizons, check biases and build confidence. A chance to sharpen points and soften delivery, bringing clarity and impact where it’s needed most.

Like every good relationship, it’s worth spending time in the first conversation agreeing what both parties want to achieve. What’s the breakthrough your mentee really wants to make? And to be upfront about the time commitment each can give. Will you meet every month for breakfast? Every 6 weeks for an hour? Perhaps the most valuable question to answer at the outset is how long you’ll work together. Somehow, it’s easier to agree 6 meetings over 6 months, and then to extend for a couple more, than it is to keep your commitment open-ended. Often there is a natural conclusion to your conversations; a mentee comes to their decision that it’s time to move on, they secure their brave next step, or take control of a difficult work situation.

Now, as I celebrate with my current mentee the job offer that will take her on an exciting new path, I’m exhilarated. We’ll work together until she’s settled in her new company and then it will be time to move on. I wonder who I’ll meet next? And what we’ll learn from each other.

Hannah Telfer, Managing Director, Audiences & Audio, Penguin Random House UK

Twitter: @HTelfer1
LinkedIn

If you are interested in becoming a mentor to a Creative Access alumni please follow this link to fill out a partnership form and we will do our best to match you as soon as possible.

Our former intern, Caroline Carpenter, has succeeded in forging a career which combines both her love of writing and love for books. She tells us about her journey to date and gives some sound advice for those wanting to follow in her footsteps…

I have worked at The Bookseller – a trade magazine for the publishing industry – since getting a year-long internship there through Creative Access in 2013. I’m now in the role of Web Editor, which involves carrying out web production duties, including uploading news stories and features to The Bookseller’s website, sending out email newsletters and running the company’s social media channels. I also chair our YA Book Prize, an award for the best book for teenagers by an author from the UK or Ireland. I sometimes write content such as author interviews for our weekly print magazine and website too.

From a very young age, I wanted to be an author. When it came to applying for university, my parents were a little worried about the lack of a clear career path that comes with an English degree (my dad had also studied English at university). They briefly tried to persuade me to continue with Law, which I studied did an A Level in and enjoyed, but were not surprised when I stuck to my guns and they’ve supported my career throughout.

Before landing my internship, I studied English and Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. When I first graduated, I gained work experience in an administrative role. I then did a few placements at publishing houses and as a result, I had the opportunity to write a book (‘A Guide to the Hunger Games‘). After that, I worked in the advertising department of a newspaper company for a year.

I was attracted to this role because I have always loved reading and writing, which inspired me to want a career in book publishing. Working at The Bookseller offered me the chance to learn a lot about the trade and to write for a living. From the start, my workmates at The Bookseller made me feel a valued part of the team – in fact, many of them didn’t even realise that I was an intern!

The best thing about my job is that it allows me to be at the centre of the publishing industry and to keep up-to-date with the latest news. I get to attend lots of book launches and events, meet authors (interviewing one of my heroes Malorie Blackman was a particular highlight!) and get sent free books before they are released. I’ve also had the opportunity to travel abroad for work and to speak on stage at events such as the Hay Festival and the Southbank Centre’s YA Literature Weekender. Above all, my work on projects such as the YA Book Prize has encouraged more people to be excited about books, which is incredibly rewarding.

In your applications, try to meet the criteria laid out in the job description and reflect the language used in it. Spend time crafting covering letters and proofreading them. Research the company you are applying for thoroughly before an interview.

• Whether it’s applying for work experience placements, building up a writing portfolio, working at a bookshop on the weekend, or writing a blog about the books you love, make sure that you show your passion somehow.
• Consider whether you want to do further study. There are lots of Publishing MA courses available at universities across the country now. For journalism roles, some employers require you to have NCTJ qualification.
• Don’t just apply for editorial jobs! Everyone in publishing starts out wanting to be an editor so these roles are incredibly competitive. Publishing companies have a vast range of roles available from HR to publicity so think about what suits your strengths best and don’t limit your applications.
• Get on Twitter – a lot of publishing people are on here and roles are also advertised here (good accounts to follow are @JobsinBooks, @inspiredselection, @pubinterns and @_CreativeAccess, of course!).

In the future, I’d like to still be working in the book trade in a role where I can use my creativity to help books reach more readers. I don’t have a dream job title in mind – maybe I’ll create my own one!

You can follow Caroline on Twitter at @CarolineC1988

All your friends call you a bookworm but this is hardly surprising. You spend more of your time hanging off your Kindle than you do hanging out with them.

It’s OK though because today you feel vindicated. The thousands of hours you’ve spent immersed in your favourite books have paid off and you’ve finally landed a job interview with a top book publisher.

Sure, take a moment to celebrate, but you’re not quite home and dry yet. If you’re going to ace this interview you need to nail some essentials. It won’t as easy as wowing them with all your literary references but luckily for you, we’ve put together these tips to help you the competitive edge.

Have detailed answers prepared for these questions

• Who is your favourite author and why?
• What is the difference between a publishing house and a literary agency?
• What genres are your favourite and why?
• What is your favourite imprint and why?
• Why are you interested in a specific type of literature?
• What are you currently reading?

Read, read, and then read some more

At this stage, it’s safe to assume that you’re a bona fide book nerd but however much you think you read now, the reality is that you can always read more. To succeed in the sector you really need to live and breathe books so impress your interviewers by showing them that you know your JR Tolkien from your JK Rowling.

Turn up your social media output, including your blog

You may love to read but can you write? In today’s publishing sector you’ll be pushed to find a major, or even independent publishing house that doesn’t have their own blog and full spread of active social media channels.
Whether you’re going for an Editorial or Marketing role it’s imperative that your blog and social media channels showcase your writing style. You also need to get to grips with the role social media plays in the publishing industry and use this to keep up to date with the latest industry trends and hot topics.

So if you’re not already on social media, start today and maybe even start following some of your favourite authors and publishers.

Get clued up on the different departments

Right now you may be thinking to yourself “I’m going for a Foreign Rights role, why do I need to know about what the Marketing department do?” well, you’d be wrong. All of the departments are subtly connected so it wouldn’t hurt to gain an understanding of the role each of them play in the overall picture. You don’t need to be an expert overnight on them all, but understanding what each of them contribute is invaluable when you’re sat in an interview. Here are a list of the departments you should know about:

• Contracts
• Foreign rights
• Marketing
• Accounts
• Publicity
• Sales

We hope these tips have given you the confidence to ace your interview.

We are always pleased to be able to share our interns experiences and this blog is no exception. Isha was an intern at Literary Agency Furniss Lawton between September 2014 and August 2015. She is now working their permanently.

Here are Isha’s Top Tips for anyone applying to work or intern with a literary agency:

• READ. Specifically, make sure you’ve read at least two books published this year. You need to be able to talk about recent books, so if you spent three years at university studying books written before 1900 (like me), make sure you brush up on your contemporary knowledge

• Know what a literary agent does, and the different between a literary agency and a publishing house (e.g. Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, PanMacmillan) – if you’re asked why you want to work in one instead of the other, you should have an answer prepared.

• Research the literary agency you’re applying to (the agency website, Bookseller articles, just a good Google!) – what recent books have their authors written, what genres do they represent, is there anything you like/recognise and can comment on?

• Remember: publishing is a business. Be aware of genres in the market – what kind of books are doing well at the moment (for example, psychological crime thrillers in fiction; healthy eating and colouring books in non-fiction), what books are in the Top 10 bestseller list (e.g. some of the best-selling fiction of 2015: The Girl on a Train, Elizabeth is Missing, The Miniaturist), what genres do you read yourself etc.

• Literary agencies are made up of various departments e.g. Contracts, Foreign Rights, Accounts – if straight up agenting doesn’t strike your fancy but you still want to work with books, utilise the skills you may already have. For example, you could use your expertise in Spanish/French/German to work in Foreign Rights, or your Law degree to work in Contracts.

• Join Twitter! Follow literary agents and professionals in publishing. Twitter’s a great resource to keep updated on what’s happening in publishing, especially as agents and publishers will tweet about their latest projects.

• Finally: be proactive, be passionate, be prepared!

As well as giving her top tips on securing an internship at a literary agency, Isha also shared her views on why Creative Access internships are so valuable…

I found Creative Access through Twitter and was lucky enough to secure my internship at Furniss Lawton – exactly the sector of the publishing industry I was interested in.”

“For me, what was so valuable about what Creative Access offered was the length and structure of the internship. When you’re just out of a short internship, working at a temp job, writing essay length cover letters no one responds to and pouring over job sites hoping to find work you’re actually passionate about, a year-long, paid internship at a literary agency couldn’t be better.

“Creative Access ensures that your company designs a training structure geared around your personal development. My training ranged from learning about pitching and writing feedback to writers, to tracking sales figures and getting to grips with accounts. This gave me a cohesive grounding in how literary agencies function. Since I’ve started, I’ve learned so much about the commerciality of publishing, the relationships between agents and editors, the way the market works – things you only pick up on the job over an extended period of time.

What’s rare about the Creative Access programme is that you’re partnered up with a mentor, a senior professional in another part of the company who reviews your progress with you – my mentor was someone in management, someone I wouldn’t really have access to in the same way if I was just a new starter.

The mentoring framework makes you accountable in a positive way; I was conscious I needed to work on something each month to maximise my experience – and it was great having someone in management rooting for me!

After my year, I knew I wanted to continue working at a literary agency, and when I was offered a permanent role, I jumped at the chance. I spent a large portion of my internship reading and sifting through submissions, I’ve given feedback to senior literary agents, and I’ve read drafts of their authors’ works-in-progress – the best thing has been getting to know their tastes and securing their trust in my opinions and recommendations. For book lovers and aspiring literary agents – it doesn’t get better than this!