Jobs and recruitment were the main topics at the Diversity in Publishing Network (DipNet) event at the 2012 London Book Fair which is fast establishing a name for itself as one of the key events at each year’s London Book Fair. This year’s event titled ‘Your Job in Publishing – recruitment and retention in the digital Age’. The panel was made of Cathey Wells, HR Director at Hachette, and a former HR person at Penguin, as well as Claire Law, Founder and Director at Atwood Tate, as well as Mary Ann Kerman, the Programe Director for Publishing at City University. The panel was introduced by Viv Bird, CEO of Booktrust, and chaired by Bobby Nayar, of the Diversity in Publishing Network and CEO of Limehous Academy. The event was attended by an audience of over 200 attendees, who were a mix of students and publishing professionals.
Digital Publishing Types?
High on the list of questions for the panel was whether there was such a thing as a ‘digital publishing type’. The panel broadly agreed that across the board people were looking not for a specific type but different types of people with a strong mix of skills who were passionate about publishing; most remarked on the changes in recruitment that have seen many people coming from outside the publishing industry, as companies look to recruit for skills not part of the traditional suite of skills for publishers. The concensus was that although social media was something of use to publishers in areas like marketing and PR, it wasn’t perceived as an essential skill for everyone across the board in publishing. The panel commented instead on the general need for in-house digital training as publishers race to keep up with technological developments; they remarked on the need in trying to boost diversity in the industry to move away from socialising and networking fuelled by alcohol. In advising those seeking to break into the industry, the panel noted that increasingly twitter and company sites are important to candidates, as well as networking through the strong Society of Young Publishers and Book Machine.
(DipNet)The Diversity in Publishing Network (formerly run by Shelina Permaloo, a UK MasterChef winner!), is an organisation founded in 2004 by two publishing professionals, Elise Dillsowrth and Alison Morrison in response to a report by the Arts Council England and The Bookseller Magazine on the lack of diversity within the publishing industry. Since its foundation in 2004, Pearson and Penguin have worked closely with DipNet including running traineeship schemes, participating in open days and open evenings and providing materials and case studies on the publishing industry, as well as ongoing consultation and support Pearson’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Abu Bundu-Kamara is a key member of DipNet’s steering committee. The network has grown to include over , 1, 500 members since it was founded, and launched the ground-breaking Dipnet’s Publishing Equalities Charter – a programme whereby publishers will commit to taking two actions related to equality and diversity. In 2006, DipNet came under the wing of Booktrust, a reading and writing charity with strong relationships with Penguin and other publishers, under which it has continued to lead the way in keeping diversity high on the agenda of the publishing industry.
