The 2020 Team

Harshita

Hi, my name is Harshita and I’m the Project Manager of Publishers’ Prize 2020. I’m from India and surprise surprise I studied English Literature before coming to UCL. I love the summer, cooking and rereading Tintin.

There used to be a small library near my apartment back home when I was ten years old. It was in this library that I started reading as a hobby; it was in this library that I started writing stories and poems; it was this library that led me to the path I’m currently on. This is what libraries mean to me: opportunity and imagination.

Instagram: @looktothebinder Twitter: @hr_lalwani

Sebastião

Hi, I’m Sebastião, I am Portugese and the Publishing Assistant for this year’s Publishers’ Prize. Essentially I assist with all stages of the book’s publication. The way I see it, I have a hand in all aspects of production, assisting wherever I can to move the process swiftly along!

As the son of a lawyer and a lawmaker, books were always floating around so they eventually hit me in the face. I started with fantasy, Lord of the Rings, and then entered literature with The Name of the Rose. Libraries, for me, mean distraction and work, laughing out loud and shushing strangers, feet on the table and handling rare editions: they’re a place of quiet magic, still potential, a true vault of paradoxes. Now, with the desire to turn theory into action, I’ve become a publishing student, ready to edit the next Ulysses.

Twitter: @humboldtsGift Instagram: @sveloso.books

Manon

Hey there, I’m Manon, this year’s Production Manager. I was born and raised in New York until the age of fifteen and have lived in the UK ever since. I have always loved creating books, ever since we had to create our own lesson books at school with illustrations and diagrams complementing the information we learned. My favourite lessons growing up were ancient history and classical literature, I loved being taken on a journey to faraway and unfamiliar places and times. It was these myths that made me realize that whatever I pursued in the future it had to involve the art of storytelling.

My first love is design however, so I undertook an undergrad in illustration. Now I work as a freelance illustrator who specializes in sequential narrative and book cover design. I hope to help other graphic novelists in the future and develop its place in the publishing industry.

Instagram: manon.wright Twitter: @_manonwright_

Website: http://manonwright.com/

Guntaas

Hi! I’m Guntaas, one of the editors of this year’s prize. Some of my fondest childhood memories include sprinting down the block to the nearest bookstore right before the annual summer breaks while my mum tried to keep up with my pace.

Growing up our house was buried in books. I can’t recall a single wall in the entire place that doesn’t have a bookshelf nailed to it. I would read whenever I could, wherever I could; the books would become the magic portals transporting me to fantastical lands where adventures would be a thing of the day. I have been writing with the dream of being a published author since the age of eight. Last year I finally self-published my own work. Now I wish to expand my knowledge of the fields of reading, editing and writing.

Instagram: @guntaaskaurchugh Twitter: @GuntaasKChugh

Kim

Hi I’m Kim, I’m from Germany, but have always had a fascination with Britain, its history and of course its literature and language. I am passionate about championing diverse voices in literature so I’m excited to read your submissions as one of the editors of the prize.

My fondest memory of libraries is ransacking the shelves to pack for family holidays which meant borrowing one book for every day. Today, doing my third degree, university libraries have become part of my natural habitat, places of silent despair and creative outbursts. Regardless of where I am, books provide me with a space to explore, learn new things, have my opinions challenged, to get lost and feel safe in which, to me, lies at the heart of storytelling.

If you would like to know just how committed I am to a life with books: I have a tattoo of a stack of books!

Instagram: @kimcarlotta Twitter: @KoenigCarlotta

Fabienne

Hello, I’m Fabienne, one of the editors of this year’s prize. I come from the land of cheese and chocolate, neither of which I am particularly partial to, instead I am usually found with my nose in a book. After studying a variety of degrees in English literature, history and medieval studies I hope to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a professional reader. Whilst doing my doctorate I found myself teaching undergraduate students and editing C18 mathematicians’ letters which came with the amazing perk of having my own key to the university library!

Books and libraries have always been close to my heart, and one of my earliest memories is going to the local library with school, with the intention of having students sign up, completely ignoring the teacher and his instructions, grabbing a stack of books and checking them out confidently, as I’d been there often enough to know how it worked and knew my family’s card allowed me more books than what the teacher told me.

Instagram: @libri_draconis / @medievalrebelgirl Twitter: @flschwizer

Anna

Hi, I’m Anna, one of the Marketing Officers for this year’s prize and one of the faces behind social media. As the daughter of two librarians books have been a constant in my life since day one, this MA was almost inevitable after a quick detour doing a History and German BA. As a kid, bring your child to work day consisted of me sitting within the children’s book stacks of the penguin archives. Complete bliss! My life has been shaped by libraries, whether that be my (now closed) village library, school and uni libraries in Bristol and Sheffield, or those of my year abroad in Heidelberg or Nürnberg. I’m very much looking forward to interacting more with you all as time goes on!

Instagram/Twitter: @noulimou

Karina

Hi, I’m Karina, one of the Marketing Officers and faces behind Pub Prize social media this year. I’m from California and studied Pre and Early Modern Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz before moving to London to study publishing at UCL.

My favourite book space is a small indie book shop in my hometown called The Book Loft, which has fuelled my love for reading from an early age. My brother and I are such frequent visitors that the owners now know our book preferences, provide great recommendations and push us to read books outside of our comfort zone.

Though this year’s theme is libraries, we encourage writers to think outside the box and consider all types of book spaces like shops, personal libraries, etc.

Instagram: @karinauribe Twitter: @karinauribeb

Lucy

Hi! I’m Lucy. Growing up in a rural Scottish town with little to do, my bibliophile mother was always determined that I would be a passionate reader. This meant letting me loose in our local library where I was given strict instructions by the (as it turns out rather lovely) librarian not to damage any books. Later we began attending the Wigtown Book Festival and then the Edinburgh Book Festival where I learned there was a massive community of book lovers. Eventually I moved from reading Harry Potter under the covers to reading Classical Studies, a subject I chose because I considered it the perfect marriage of literature and history. A history nerd at heart, I’m a big fan of biographies and classic novels. I also love horror and feminist fiction. As the Sales Officer for this year’s Prize I am especially looking forward to interacting with independent book shops and working on a project that allows so many budding writers to see their work published for the first time.

Instagram: @whine_aunt Twitter: @tillylucy95