Having joined Dennis in 2015 as The Week Junior’s launch editor, Anna has steered The Week Junior through four consecutive years of circulation growth. The magazine now boasts over 90,000 subscribers and has won multiple awards for its editorial excellence. Under her leadership the team has launched two brand extensions in the UK – the monthly magazine, Science+Nature (in September 2018) and bi-monthly puzzle book, Quizzler (February 2020), and a weekly podcast. An American edition of The Week Junior launched in the US in March 2020 and has already attracted more than 40,000 subscribers. Anna has been creating magazines for children for more than 25 years. She has an in-depth understanding of what young readers engage with, and a commitment to providing smart, perfectly-pitched, trusted and age-appropriate content that keeps children – and their parents – coming back for more. In December 2018 Anna was presented with the Editors’ Editor Award by the British Society of Magazine Editors.
After nearly five years at ELLE, and several job titles, I am now the Executive Editor (Digital), overseeing all website and social strategy, but with certain responsibilities for sales and revenue too. I work very closely with Editor-in-Chief, Farrah Storr, and manage my direct reports, but also look after members of the wider, integrated editorial team when they're carrying out work for the digital sides of the business.
I've been ELLE for nearly five years, always overseeing digital to some degree, but with increasing seniority. Before that, I've worked in either a full-time or freelance capacity for titles that span the full gamut of journalism, from The Sun newspaper, through to New York Magazine, from start-up digital brands through to massive international conglomerates like Yahoo.
Andy Cowles is an accomplished creative director, Guardian Masterclass trainer and founder of Cowles Media, an internationally recognised design consultancy. Leadership roles include Editorial Development Director of Time Inc. UK, Creative Director of Mademoiselle for Condé Nast and Creative Director of Rolling Stone in NYC. Andy has won multiple editorial and design awards, including the UK’s most prestigious, the BSME Mark Boxer award.
I am responsible for identifying new commercial activities and driving business growth for the London Review of Books, the London Review Bookshop and Cake Shop. I oversee all commercial activities for the business development of the LRB, including sales, customer service and marketing.
The LRB is Europe's largest literary magazine and I have been instrumental in assisting with the huge subscriptions growth in my 8 + years at the magazine. Since becoming the Commercial Director in 2019 I have also helped form and grow our e-commerce business and have found new revenue streams and areas for growth.
Stuart Forrest is Managing Director of Audience Development, Business Intelligence, Commerce and Digital Subscriptions at Immediate Media. His role encompasses Immediate's award winning portfolio of digital brands, including Good Food, Radio Times, Gardeners World, Bike Radar, and MadeForMums.
Stuart began his career at EMAP in 1996, spent 13 years in a variety of consumer publishing roles in Haymarket's motoring portfolio, including the development post acquisition of PistonHeads.com.
He joined Immediate Media in 2014, initially to accelerate the digital audience growth of RadioTimes.com, moving into a cross functional role in 2019.
https://martinixerdesign.myportfolio.com
Vanessa Kingori MBE has worked for media publishing house, Condé Nast Britain for a decade. In September 2017, she was appointed Publishing Director of all British Vogue platforms. This makes Vanessa the first female publisher of the company's flagship brand in its 104-year history as well as the first person of colour in the role across the company. Vanessa maintain's a key focus' is on nurturing young talent.
Vanessa’s role at British Vogue has involved a significant shift in the brand’s business structure, revenue streams as well as purpose and working practices. As well as structuring digital revenue transformation an emphasis on diversity of perspective, social responsibility and female empowerment is at the heart.
In her first full year as British Vogue’s Publishing Director, 2018, British Vogue enjoyed its most successful digital revenue in the website’s 30-year history,+45% year-on-year, +750% in events profits year-on-year whilst maintaining British Vogue’s large print revenue.
During Vanessa’s tenure, British Vogue won two Cannes Lions awards in 2019 for the brand’s partnership with L'Oréal Paris on “The Non-Issue” issue which aimed to dispel cultural myths surrounding women and age. This marks a first for Condé Nast Britain. This project was also awarded the ‘Luxury Grand Prix’ by Strategies Magazine.
Vanessa has a keen interest in youth development and uses her longstanding role as Fellow and now Governor/Trustee at the University of the Arts London to support and mentor students.
Vanessa has sat on the judging panel of the Black British Business Awards since 2015. She also judges the Veuve Clicquot Business Women of The Year Award from 2017 to present day as well as The Mayor of London’s TFL’s advertising competition aimed at challenging stereotypes in advertising. Vanessa is also a British Fashion Council Patron.
Honours and Awards
Think is a UK media group specialising in producing multichannel content for membership organisations, charities, brands and the travel sector. The group brings together its own media brands in our new company Think Travel (Wanderlust, Where London, Where Paris, In London and London Planner) and more than two decades of experience in audience engagement through our agency Think Membership & Branded Content. Think has 110 staff and offices in London, Glasgow and Paris. Tilly is also co-owner and NED of Welbeck Publishing Group (formerly Carlton Books).
Barry McIlheney is the former CEO of the PPA, the industry body for all UK magazine media. He is also the former Editor and Publisher of such iconic brands as Smash Hits, Q, Empire, Elle, and The Face. He sits on the boards of the European Magazine Media Association and FIPP, the global media network. In 2018 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the magazine industry in his native Ireland.
Paul Solomons, 46, studied at The Mid Glamorgan school of art and design in South Wales before graduating with a BA honours degree in graphic design at Nottingham Trent University.
His work was spotted at the New Designers exhibition following this by the then publishing house, EMAP.
He joined EMAP’s Bike magazine for one year before becoming a designer at Marie Claire magazine in 1998.
From Marie Claire he then moved to the Condé Nast title Tatler becoming the deputy art director in 2001 before moving on to British GQ.
He chose to apply for the role of designer to gain a place at the men’s lifestyle magazine. ‘Truthfully, I realised that I didn’t know just as much as I thought I knew and that I wasn’t ready for a senior role which is why I was prepared to drop a few positions to learn from the very best’.
During his time at GQ he rose through the positions to become the brand’s creative director in 2004, winning numerous awards along the way and overseeing the original transition from print to digital.
Solomons still credits his time working at a magazine printing press in his home town in South Wales as an equally important part of his trajectory. ‘It was to help pay for my studies’ he says, “But it did more than that. It was where my love for printed media and the industry grew. It also gave me enormous respect for the chain of production.’
Judging these awards has been absolute thrill for me. There are so many incredibly talented entries and I have been inspired by many of them.
BBC Studios owns and publishes BBC Top Gear Magazine and Topgear.com in the UK and has over 20 licensed magazines and 10 websites under international license. Besides Top Gear, BBCS works with 4 publishing partners who license over 20 other BBC brands ranging from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine and Gardenersworld.com to Doctor Who magazines and comics.
Involved in the publishing industry for more years than I care to remember, I've been the MD of Galleon (later Dovetail), MD of Kelsey Publishing, Circulation Director for Archant Specialist and regional and now head up the magazine publishing division of BBC Studios.
Victoria is an award winning editor who has worked in publishing for over 25 years as an editor, digital director and now overseeing commercial content. She heads up the creative side of the Hearst Content Agency which produces content for brands such as Asda, P&G and Princess Cruises.
