London Book Fair Seminar
10th April 2018, 10-11am, The Faculty
Is the publishing industry doing enough to become more inclusive? What do you want to see publishers do to make the industry more accessible? What changes does the industry need to make to be truly diverse?
We’re inviting current publishing students from all over the world to think of new ways of considering diversity in the publishing industry. We want to hear about innovative and implementable approaches to advance inclusion and accessibility across the whole breadth of the industry, from writers and agents, to editors, and designers. Students will be asked to present their ideas in a 3 minute ‘pitch’ to a panel of leading experts working in the industry.
EXPERT PANEL
Aimée Felone
Co-Founder at Knights Of
Aimée Felone is co-founder of newly launched Knights Of – a commercial children’s publisher whose main focus is hiring diversely, and commissioning writers and illustrators from a diverse range of backgrounds. She has worked at Eve White Agency, David Higham Associates and was Assistant Editor at Scholastic. She has always been a supportive and engaged voice within the industry working and has tirelessly worked to promote diversity.
Dr Nancy Roberts
Director of Business Inclusivity
Nancy has worked in publishing for over 20 years in a variety of production and operations roles, following on from the completion of her postgraduate publishing diploma at West Herts College. Her experience encompasses a wide spectrum of sectors, in children’s, trade and academic. She has a global view of the industry, and brings a uniquely broad perspective gained from across the different sectors in which she has worked.
Nancy founded Business Inclusivity to support the industry in thinking about how we can use diversity and inclusion to solve business problems and deliver a sustainable industry. Business Inclusivity is a social enterprise meaning profits are reinvested in the business to enable broader access to support. As well as working on diversity and inclusion strategies, she also enjoys providing personal coaching and leadership development. She has a PhD in Postcolonial Feminist Literary Theory, and is currently an EMBA student at Cranfield University.
Wei Ming Kam
Digital Marketing & Data Executive
Oberon Book
Wei Ming is co-founder of BAME In Publishing, a network for people of colour who work in publishing, and a co-founder of Pride in Publishing, a network for queer people who work in publishing. She has written for the best selling essay collection The Good Immigrant, as well as Media Diversified and Gal Dem.
Frances Menash Williams
Author & Consultant
Frances Menash Williams is the author of the novels From Pasta to Pigfoot and From Pasta to Pigfoot: Second Helpings. Her non-fiction titles include Everyday Heroes – Learning from the Careers of Successful Black Professionals and I Want to Work in Africa: How to Move Your Career to the World’s Most Exciting Continent. A successful entrepreneur and consultant, she is the publisher of ReConnectAfrica.com, an award-winning careers and business portal for African professionals in the Diaspora. Frances has written extensively on issues relating to people development, careers and Africa and as a guest columnist for various publications. She has spoken at numerous conferences and forums on skills development, Africa and the African diaspora and was a speaker at the December 2014 TEDxEuston event in London. She is the recipient of several awards, most recently the African Diaspora Awards 2017 Community Pioneer Award. @FrancesMensahW
www.francesmensahwilliams.com
www.Facebook.com/FrancesMensahWilliams
Heather O’Connell
Consultant at Bluebird Works
Heather has more than 20 years experience in the publishing industry working her way up from controller to senior management positions at Penguin and Harper Collins. She is passionate about the industry and runs a consultancy that helps publishers to improve their workflows and buying strategy. She also teaches them the art of production, both in house and via the Publishing MA at UCL where she runs the Production and Ops module. She launched the Get into Book Publishing course last year which provides a cost effective introduction to the book industry.