Spare 'Zoom' Project calls on professionals to meet publishing hopefuls virtually

The Spare Room Project is collaborating with Penguin Random House to temporarily transform into "The Space Zoom Project" – an adaptation of the scheme in light of continued home-working across the industry.

In a bid to ensure young people are still able to connect with and learn about the trade, PRH UK and James Spackman, publisher and consultant and founder of The Spare Room Project, teamed up to create The Spare Zoom Project to provide "a simple and easy way for people to give their time and experience to help open up and demystify our industry".

The Spare Zoom Project will match people already working in the industry with people across the UK looking to learn more about a potential career in publishing, connecting them so they can have an informal 30-minute virtual conversation via Zoom.

The project's organisers have said they are now looking for publishing professionals to offer their time via the dedicated website, with the number of places available to those outside of the industry dependent on how many volunteers sign up to take part. The Zoom conversations are due to take place next month during Work in Publishing Week (16th-20th November 2020) onwards.

The Spare Zoom Project is open to publishing professionals in different roles, experiences and seniority levels across publishing, the goal being "to demonstrate the wide range of opportunities available in our industry". Volunteers will be able to schedule a Zoom conversation at a time to suit them, and will be able to choose how many Zoom conversations they would like to do.

People looking to take part and be connected with a publishing professional can also sign up via the website. The scheme is for those aged 18 and over, and primarily for people who are looking to get into the UK publishing industry.

Ordinarily the Spare Room Project matches interns and job seekers from outside London with people in the book industry who live in the capital and who can offer them a place to stay for free. This scheme has been on pause since the start of lockdown earlier this year, and the timing of a re-launch is to be decided in line with government guidance. To date, since its inception in 2016, it has offered free accommodation to over 100 people completing work experience or internships in the publishing industry, of which "at least 20" have since gone on to take up roles in the industry according to organisers. The programme is sponsored by Penguin Random House UK but supports people working across the whole publishing industry.

Spackman, founder of The Spare Room Project, said: "Since lockdown it’s not been possible for obvious reasons to encourage people to stay in each other’s houses – and the vast majority of internships and work experiences have been postponed or gone virtual. This is an exciting new way for people in the industry to help in the core Spare Room Project mission of offering a friendly welcome to publishing, along with generous advice and encouragement. Job seekers and new starters will be also have the opportunity to discover different areas of the industry – which isn’t always easy from the outside."
 
Siena Parker, head of Creative Responsibility at Penguin Random House, said: "I am a Spare Room Project host myself and have really missed the chance to connect with young people eager to learn about our industry. We hope that this will be a simple and easy way for people to squeeze just one extra Zoom meeting into their busy day. It’s so important for us all to continue to find ways to open up the world of publishing, which can still feel out of reach for many."

Penguin Random House will begin offering virtual work experience opportunities from the new year.