With Kay Farrell, Leah McDowell, Kirstin Lamb and Ceris Jones / Chair: Gill Tasker

Ever picked up a book you enjoyed and wondered how it was made? Ever thought the book world may be the place for you to make a career, but weren’t sure where to start? The Scottish Books Long Weekend has put together a tour de force panel for those interested in a behind-the-scenes peek at publishing and help in entering the industry.

Joining us will be Ceris Jones (Campaigns Manager, Sandstone Press), Kay Farrell (Assistant Publisher, Sandstone Press), Leah McDowell (Art and Production Director, Floris Books), Kirstin Lamb (Senior PR and Rights Manager, Barrington Stoke), and Gill Tasker (Lecturer in Publishing, University of Stirling) to share their own career journeys, the skills needed for their roles, and recommendations for those wanting to pursue a career in publishing.

Tickets are FREE. 

All events in The Scottish Books Long Weekend will be recorded and will be uploaded to the Publishing Scotland YouTube channel with closed captions on Tuesday 15 June.

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Ceris Jones is Campaigns Manager at Sandstone Press, an independent publisher based in the Scottish Highlands and Saltire Society Scottish Publisher of the Year in 2014 and 2019. She manages marketing and publicity for a variety of fiction and non-fiction, from debut novels to books by internationally established authors including Jokha Alharthi, Pauline Melville, Jørn Lier Horst and Volker Kutscher.

Kay Farrell is Assistant Publisher at Sandstone Press, working across editorial and production. She edits fiction and non-fiction across a range of subjects. In 2019 she was selected as a Bookseller Rising Star and Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year.

Leah McDowell is an award-winning book designer and art director who is passionate about opening up the publishing industry to aspiring designers and illustrators. She leads the Design & Production team at Floris Books in Edinburgh, an independent publisher of award-winning Scottish children’s books.

Kirstin Lamb is the Senior PR and Rights Manager at specialist children’s publisher Barrington Stoke. She is a former Co-Chair of the Society of Young Publishers Scotland and was shortlisted for the Saltire Society’s Emerging Publisher of the Year in 2017. Kirstin is currently serving as a Council Member for the Saltire Society. 

Gill Tasker is Lecturer in Digital Creative Economy and Publishing at the University of Stirling.

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This event is part of the Scottish Books Long Weekend 10 to 13 June. For the full programme, see BooksfromScotland.com/scottish-books-long-weekend/.

Books are available to buy from our bookshop partners Bookshop.org.