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Thorpe, Bartosinski and Ashton-Booth join Children’s Books North mentor scheme for 2023
Three additional publishers will join the Children’s Books North mentoring scheme, as it launches its third year in 2023.
The scheme offers six places for mentees to work on a one-to-one basis with the Children’s Books North mentors to demystify the industry and offer insights to anyone looking to begin a career in children’s publishing.
The new mentors are: Ashley Thorpe, senior editor at Storymix; Alice Bartosinski, senior commissioning editor at Nosy Crow; and Tom Ashton-Booth, picture books and young fiction designer at Oxford University Press. They join Children’s Books North co-founders Emma Layfield, Liz Scott and Tilda Johnson to double the number of mentee places available for 2023.
The mentorship scheme, which opens for applications today (Tuesday 28th February), will involve an introductory one-hour meeting followed by three one-hour meetings focused on improving CV and social media profile, the importance of networking, and interview and assistant role expectations.
The scheme will last for four months and, at the end, mentees will be put in touch with each other to form a support network going forward.
Applications for the 2023 scheme are open now to anyone living in the north-west, north-east, Yorkshire or Scotland who is interested in beginning a career in children’s publishing, with no previous experience required.
Joanna Ruffell, a mentee from the 2022 scheme, said: “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was selected as a mentee for the Children’s Books North mentoring programme but what I received was a huge amount of support, brilliant industry connections and an incredibly useful insight into the publishing world from the wonderfully inclusive, open-minded and forward-thinking team at Children’s Books North.”
Helen Varley, another former mentee, added: “[The Children’s Books North Scheme] has taught me so much about the publishing industry in the four sessions we’ve had together and I’ve also got to attend some great events and met lots of authors and illustrators. I’m still looking for the right opportunity, but I’m definitely more knowledgeable and confident about applying for a role within children’s publishing when the right job comes up.”
Further details on how to apply can be found here.
