Faber among Mo Siewcharran grant recipients

Faber has been awarded a Mo Siewcharran grant along with Profile Books and Canongate.

The fund was set up in memory of former Nielsen Books director Mo Siewcharran. It is administered by Creative Access, an enterprise which supports internships for young talent from ethnicities that are under-represented in the creative industries.

Faber will receive a grant for a six-month sales placement, Profile will use the money for a publicity trainee while Canongate will recruit an editorial assistant. Two theatre companies, Cloud Cuckoo Land in Birmingham and the Stockroom in London, also received grants.

“At Faber we believe very strongly that to remain relevant, publishing must become more inclusive," Belinda Matthews, editorial director at Faber, said of the bursary. "We are therefore delighted to be working once again with Creative Access, hosting a six month placement in Sales as part of the latest round of placements with Mo Siewcharran Bursary Fund.”

Niamh Murray, campaigns director at Profile, commented: “We're delighted to be welcoming a Creative Access trainee to Profile Books and our award-winning publicity team. The support by Creative Access is second-to-none, the calibre of applicants remarkable and it's fitting that many of the senior team worked with Mo Siewcharran early in her career so we're proud and delighted to be taking part in this fantastic scheme in her memory.”

Francis Bickmore, publishing director for Canongate, spoke of the organisation's particularly strong connection with the grant. “We're thrilled and honoured to have been awarded this grant, which is especially important to us as John Seton was a colleague of ours at Canongate and this fund was set up as a lasting memorial to his wife Mo. It is such a practical and lasting project for change and we are confident we will gain and be able to train a fabulous colleague as a result.”

Siewcharran’s partner and publishing veteran John Seaton, who set up the fund, said: “Yet again we were bowled over by the strength of the applications to Mo’s Fund. The creative industries - and in particular theatres - continue to have a tough time and Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse employees in the UK have suffered disproportionately from job losses throughout the pandemic. Our hope is that these grants will act as a catalyst for the trainees to enter and thrive in the creative industries.”

Seaton retired from his role as Canongate head of backlist and inventory management in March after 51 years in publishing though remains heavily involved in the industry.

The deadline for the next round of applications for the Mo Siewcharran Fund is 3rd December. Visit this website for more information.