HarperCollins Author and Design Academy relaunches under Ken Wilson-Max

HarperCollins Author and Design Academy has been relaunched and will be led by Ken Wilson-Max, publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books imprint Kumusha Books.   

Applications for the next cohort will open in late September, with the six-week course starting in May 2025.  The academy offers free training to writers and designers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to help them gain the knowledge and skills to succeed in fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.  

During the six-week course students receive the help of mentors from across HarperCollins and from bestselling authors including Jamila Gavin, Sarah Morgan, June Sarpong, Rebecca F Kuang and Charles Cumming.  

Former HarperCollins publishing director Rose Sandy, who left the publisher in October 2023, first started the scheme in January 2021 to support training and supporting aspiring and unagented writers from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. The design strand, spearheaded by Farshore creative director Tiffany Leeson, was added in 2022.   

Over 200 students have graduated the academy, with many already going on to gain agency representation, win awards and sign book deals.

Wilson-Max, publisher of Kumusha Books, said: “The HarperCollins Author and Design Academy has been hugely successful in helping new talent get started, and I’ve been impressed at how so many graduates have quickly gone on to success, including within HarperCollins. I’m delighted to be stepping up to lead the academy as it continues to support talented new writers and designers.” 

More details are available on the website.