Children's Books North to roll out mentoring scheme

Children’s Books North co-founders Tilda Johnson, Emma Layfield and Liz Scott (pictured) are launching a mentoring scheme for emerging publishing professionals living in the North of England and in Scotland.

The scheme will offer three places a year for mentees to work on a 1:1 basis with the founders, to "demystify" the industry and offer insights to anyone looking to begin a career in publishing.

Describing the initiative, Scott said: "One of our core aims with Children’s Books North is to increase regional diversity in the children’s book industry. There is so much talent that we want to encourage, nurture and retain here, and we hope that the mentor scheme can help to achieve that."

The scheme will involve an introductory one-hour meeting online, or in person when UK Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed. It will be followed by four one-hour meetings focused on improving CVs and social media profiles, networking, interview and assistant role expectations, and the children’s book industry. Regular email correspondence will also feature.

The scheme will be rolled out annually, and last for four months. At the end of each mentorship period, the mentees will be put in touch with each other to form a support network going forward.

Applications for the 2021 scheme are open now to anyone living in the North West, North East, Yorkshire or Scotland who is interested in beginning a career in publishing, with no previous experience required.