Opening Doors candidate Boyne lands permanent role at Bonnier Books UK

Isabella Boyne, the first candidate of Bonnier Books UK’s Opening Doors initiative to help people from underrepresented backgrounds break into publishing, is joining the company as an editorial assistant.

Following four weeks on the work experience programme, Boyne joins the flagship adult fiction imprint Zaffre with a specific focus on supporting the crime and thriller list. She officially takes up her position on 20th July, reporting to senior editor Kelly Smith.

The Opening Doors initiative – celebrating the publication of youth mentor and social mobility advocate Reggie Nelson’s memoir Opening Doors – saw Bonnier Books UK work in partnership with literary, film, and TV agency OWN IT! and the author to launch the scheme.

It offered four weeks of fully-paid work experience, split between Bonnier Books UK and OWN IT!; aimed at opening doors to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds, demystifying the industry, and helping candidates take their first steps on the path to a career in publishing.

Boyne said: "I am so grateful to Reggie Nelson, OWN IT!, and Bonnier for giving me the opportunity to be the first candidate for the Opening Doors initiative. It helped me gain such a great insight into publishing and is an amazing step to making publishing a more diverse and inclusive industry. I am thrilled to be joining Kelly and Ben [Willis] as part of Zaffre’s crime and thriller team and can’t wait to return to Bonnier Books."

Smith added: “In just a short time, Isabella showed why we simply couldn’t continue without her. Her warmth and energy, along with her masterful commercial instincts, make her the perfect addition to our expanding team. It’s brilliant to already see the success of the Opening Doors scheme, and we look forward to continuing with the initiative to provide further future opportunities.”

Madiya Altaf, editor of Nelson’s book, added she was “so pleased to see how successful the scheme has been, with the brilliant Isabella landing a role with our wonderful Fiction team after a great few weeks with us”.

“ We look forward to continuing to share Reggie’s powerful message of opening doors and removing as many barriers as we can,” she said.