The Royal Society of Literature and Kings College London invite you to our high-profile annual Careers in Literature event, which draws crowds of hundreds to hear from a panel of professionals about the highlights and challenges of making a career in the world of literature.

We have assembled a panel of professionals whose careers span literary landscapes including Poetry, Live Literature, Publishing, PR, and TV Production.

During this event which will take place live at Kings College, London and will be livestreamed, each panellist will speak about their work, followed by an opportunity for you to ask questions to people who have been there and done it.

Our panellists are; Publicity Director at Penguin Random House, Shona Abhyankar; poet and Literary Event Producer at the Southbank Centre, Lily Blacksell; TV Producer, Eleanor Greene and poet and poetry collective founder, Rachel Long.

This event will be chaired by Debo Amon.

We’ll end with a drinks reception and a chance to meet like-minded literary enthusiasts.

Shona Abhyankar began her career as a Waterstones bookseller after graduating, before taking a job as Publicity Assistant at Orion Publishing, intending to move into Editorial eventually. That move never happened. She has worked as a Literary Agent in both London and Sydney, Australia, and in publishing PR both in-house and agency-side, with adult and children’s publishing. She has worked for the UK’s largest publishers as well as independents. Her authors over the years have included Raymond Briggs, Arianna Huffington, Sheryl Sandberg, Ian Dunt David Mckee and Abi Morgan, and, more recently Pedro Almodóvar, Karl Ove Knausgaard and Haruki Murakami.

Shona is a former Publishers’ Publicity Circle mentor, a co-founder of the Primadonna Festival and co-host of the Primadonna podcast. She is currently Publicity Director for Harvill Secker, a division of Vintage at Penguin Random House UK.

Lily Blacksell is a poet and events programmer. She is Literature Programmer at Southbank Centre and previously worked for the RSL as Public Events and Partnerships Manager. Lily has worked as a bookseller at the London Review Bookshop and has taught courses for the Poetry School and Columbia University. She runs a poetry and music night called Canon Fodder, which she took to Glastonbury this year. She is a trustee at Quay Arts, the Isle of Wight’s leading art gallery and venue for live arts events. Lily’s poems have appeared in the likes of Poetry Review and BOMB Magazine. Her two pamphlets are There’s No Such Thing (ignition press) and Stressed, Tested (Rough Trade Books).

Originally from Manchester, Eleanor Greene studied English and Philosophy at Birmingham University and went on to work first as a Runner, then Script Editor, Development Producer, Producer and Exec Producer in the world of TV Drama and Film. Her credits include Queer As Folk, Clocking Off, Party Animals, The Silence, The Scandalous Lady W, starring Natalie Dormer, and more recently the BAFTA nominated The Windermere Children. Eleanor also teaches screenwriting periodically at Arvon – home of creative writing. She also quilts and reads voraciously in her spare time.

Rachel Long founded and ran Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour, which was housed at the Southbank Centre, in London, from 2015 to 2020. Her debut collection, My Darling from the Lions (Picador 2020 / Tin House 2021) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, The Costa Book Award, The Rathbones Folio Prize, and The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. The US edition featured in the New York Times Book Review, and was named one of the 100 must-read books of 2021 by TIME.

Presented in partnership with the Royal Society of Literature.