BookMachine Editorial Board

BookMachine Logo one colour pink rgb 72dpiMeet the BookMachine Editorial Board: the next step in our mission to make BookMachine a one-stop-shop for you to visit throughout your publishing career.

We want BookMachine to challenge some of your existing ideas, whilst helping to make you a better designer, editor, (insert your job title here). We also want to encourage people in different departments to work together. This is where our Editorial Board comes in.

Each Board member will be steering and advising on the content within their specialism, curating resources and events that give you the tools to help you go beyond your niche.

Take a look below to learn more about our Editorial Board members. If you’ve got any burning questions you’d like answered by our experts, feel free to ping them to us here and we will try to get them answered.

Simon Mellins

Accessibility

Simon Mellins, Accessible Publishing Specialist
Simon is a digital publishing and accessiblity specialist with a particular interest in standards development and helping organisations manage accessibility transformation and develop ambitious yet practicable workflows. He has worked in digital publishing for over 15 years, including in magazines, journals and ebooks. His last role was  Ebook Technology Coordinator at Penguin Random House UK, where he looked after ebook specifications, documentation and education, with a special focus on accessibility. Simon was also involved in the foundation of the UK Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) and sits on multiple W3C Community Groups.

Agenting

Julia Silk is an agent with Greyhound Literary, where she represents a wide range of fiction and practical and narrative non-fiction by clients including Maisie Hill, Amanda Mason, Penny Wincer and Owen Booth. She has an MA in comparative literature from UEA and has previously worked as a bookseller and editor both in and out of house for publishers including PRH, Simon & Schuster and Orion, where she headed a digital crime list. As well as her core work as an agent, Julia is strongly committed to increasing representation and accessibility for writers across the industry, and regularly supports and contributes to the work of organisations and events such as Word Factory, Spread the Word and the Working Class Writers Festival. @juliasreading

Julia Silk
Louise

Audio

Louise Harvey works in audio across all imprints as Audio Manager at Little, Brown Book Group and loves nothing more than plugging into a good book. She’s in audio publishing for the thrill of finding the perfect reader for an author’s work. Louise was SYP London Chair 2017. @louiseinbooks

Mags

Editorial

Magdalene Abraha is a writer and publisher who began her career in journalism as a columnist before working at senior roles in publishing houses such as I.B Tauris and Bloomsbury publishers. She now heads up Jacaranda‘s non-fiction list with a keen eye to develop authors. She was voted a Bookseller’s Rising Star 2019. Magdalene was also awarded the LBF Trailblazer award 2020 for her contribution to publishing. She has been featured extensively across news and media. @mags_ab

Production

Ken Jones is a publishing software expert with over ten years experience as Technical Production Manager, software trainer and developer at Penguin Group UK. He is the mastermind behind Circular Software, which offers workflow advice, software tools and training to publishers including Hachette, Pan Macmillan, Quarto Group and Thames & Hudson to improve how they produce their print and digital books. @CircularKen

production ken jones
emmanuel kolade headshot

Tech

Emmanuel Kolade is a digital technology executive with nearly two decades’ experience across sectors and household brands. He is managing director at multi-format book retailer Shulph. His mission is to design a future that helps people absorb new knowledge easier and faster, so that more of us can increase our capacity to accelerate the world’s collective growth. @ekolade

We are incredibly grateful to previous Editorial Board members for all of their support and expertise over the years. A big thank you to:

  • Linda Secondari, Principal and Creative Director of Studiolo Secondari
  • Micaela Alcaino, Cover Designer and Illustrator
  • Rik Ubhi, Editorial Director at Heligo Books
  • Emma Barnes, CEO at Consonance
  • Abbie Headon, Publisher at Calon Books
  • Sophie O’Rourke, Managing Director at emc design
  • Julia Garvey, Operations Director at British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)
  • Claire Maxwell, Publicist at Read Media

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