THE 2024 BOOK PUBLICIST MENTORING SCHEME

The Publishers’ Publicity Circle are thrilled to announce the eighth year of their mentoring scheme
which will begin in January 2024. The application window is now open and publicists at all levels are
encouraged to apply to either mentor or be a mentee.

The successful programme was created by the PPC committee to give publicists the chance to learn
from each other, meeting monthly to share knowledge and experience from their own show-stopping,
standout campaigns. From campaign planning and contact building to career and personal growth,
the aim of the scheme is to give successful applicants the opportunity to discuss, develop and unlock
their full potential. The application deadline is Friday 1st December for both mentors and mentees.
The 2023 scheme has been a huge success, with 14 mentor pairs from across fiction, non-fiction and
children’s books from in house, freelance, big and small companies. This year the PPC is allowing
former mentors to apply for a second year in a row.

Joe Thomas, PPC Chair said: ‘As both a former PPC mentor and the current PPC chair, I’m hugely proud
of the Mentoring Scheme and the impact it’s had over the last 7 years. Growing from 5 pairings in
2016 to 14 in 2023 is a real testament to the value the mentors and mentees have found in the
scheme. At a time when book publicity is persistently tumultuous, it’s more important than ever to
have opportunities for cross-industry exchanges of knowledge and expertise, as well as to find support
in each other. Taking part in the scheme as a mentor definitely helped me grow into the publicist I am
today, and I’d hugely encourage publicists to take advantage of the opportunity and apply.’

PPC Mentee Sarah Lundy, Press Officer at HQ, HarperCollins said: ‘The PPC Mentorship Scheme has
been invaluable to me this year. My mentor helped me navigate some trickier issues by empowering
me with advice and information that helped me raise concerns when I needed to. Having an outsider
perspective was incredibly helpful and created a safe space to receive support both for my campaigns
and with other challenges that arose. I’m hugely appreciative to the PPC for setting this up and would
wholeheartedly encourage other members to apply!’

PPC Mentee Chloe Davies, Senior Press Officer at Pan Macmillan said: ‘The PPC mentorship scheme
has been a really fantastic experience and through my mentor I’ve gained so much more confidence
in my skills and ideas, and how I can use my journalism background to my advantage. My mentor has
been incredibly supportive, encouraging and helpful and in our meetings we’ve worked together on
creative brainstorms, campaign discussions and also looked at how I can further my publishing career.
It’s been invaluable to work and collaborate alongside a senior publicist in the industry and get a fresh
perspective on how to approach a campaign, a pitch or particular issue. I’d really recommend the
scheme to any publicist.’

PPC Mentor Ros Ellis, Head of Publicity at Bloomsbury, said: ‘Supporting the PPC as a mentor in 2023
has been one of the highlights of my year. I’ve loved the monthly meetings I’ve had with my mentee
which have become a really fun and safe space in which to guide on campaigns and career, discuss
ideas and also bring some fresh eyes on some of my own projects. I recommend it to anyone, at
whatever stage in their career.’

PPC Mentor Amy Greaves, Head of Publicity at Elliott & Thompson said: ‘I have hugely enjoyed being
part of the PPC mentorship programme. It has been so helpful to connect with another publicist and share ideas from the perspectives of two very different
publishing houses. Our monthly discussions covered everything from best practice for publicity
campaigns and handling author expectations to career progression and gaining confidence at work.
Our monthly conversations allowed us to bounce ideas off each other and explore new directions for
our book campaigns. A really worthwhile scheme!’

For further information please contact:
Josie Turner, Josie.Turner@macmillan.com and Eve Wersocki Morris, eve@ewmpr.co.uk

For mentees download your PPC Mentee Application 2024

For mentors download your PPC Mentor Application 2024

Please email applications to Eve Wersocki Morris, eve@ewmpr.co.uk and Josie Turner, Josie.Turner@macmillan.com