Children’s Books North launches second mentoring scheme for aspiring publishers

The co-founders of Children’s Books North (CBN) are rolling out their mentoring scheme for aspiring publishers for a second year, as they celebrate the second anniversary of the organisation.

CBN champions regional diversity in children’s writing and was set up Tilda Johnson, Emma Layfield and Liz Scott to demystify the industry and offer insights to anyone looking to begin a career in publishing.

The scheme offers three places for mentees to work on a one-to-one basis with the co-founders. It involves an introductory meeting followed by three one-hour meetings focused on improving CVs and social media profiles, the importance of networking, and interview and assistant role expectations. In between these four meetings, there will be regular email interaction.

The scheme will last for four months each year and, at the end of each scheme, mentees will be put in touch with each other to form a support network going forward. Applications for the 2022 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. 

"The CBN mentor scheme was an invaluable experience for me both professionally and personally, "said Emma Toft, who participated last year. "With the help of my mentor, Tilda, I was able to work on and improve my application and interview skills as well as improving my social media presence. She was also a great help in introducing me to different publishing professionals to learn more about specific areas of the industry."

"This mentoring scheme really provided me a deep insight into the world of publishing, especially with the different areas of publishing and the structure of it," fellow mentee Fatima Shahzad added. "My mentor, Liz, was really kind and supported me every step of the way. I really recommend this programme to anyone wanting to get into publishing."