The Felicity Bryan publishing mentorship scheme

Scheme dates: September - November 2026

Salary: Oxford Living Wage (set at £14.06 per hour)

Gain a practical introduction to publishing through a paid mentorship designed to support people from underrepresented backgrounds.

Applications are now open for the Felicity Bryan publishing mentorship scheme, created in honour of the pre-eminent literary agent Felicity Bryan, who died in June 2020. Felicity was unequivocally one of the most successful and esteemed literary agents of the last few decades. She established her own literary agency in Oxford in 1988, after a career as a journalist and then as a director at Curtis Brown in London. Her clients at that time included Mary Berry and Rosamunde Pilcher, and her burgeoning commercial and critical success gave her the basis to take on new agents and staff for what has since become the largest literary agency outside London. Felicity was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours for her services to publishing. She died from stomach cancer in June 2020.

The scheme is aimed at anyone from an underrepresented background who is interested in pursuing a career in the publishing industry. It is designed to be accessible to anyone, no matter their circumstances, and to give a stimulating and varied introduction to the many aspects of publishing. The mentee will be paid the Oxford Living Wage for the duration of the mentorship and there will be an additional stipend available to cover the cost of accommodation. The scheme is generously supported by Felicity’s family, and reflects her own energetic nurturing of talent and potential in young people starting out in their careers.

The three-month mentorship will be based primarily at the Felicity Bryan Associates offices in Oxford. It will also include a range of industry placements at our partner organisations, including:

• Little, Brown Book Group
• Profile Books
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates
• Sylvie Zannier Literary Scouting
• Forage Literary
• Daunts Books Summertown

Application process

To apply, please send the below in one document (word or PDF) by clicking the 'Apply' button:

• Your most up-to-date CV
• A covering letter

As part of your covering letter, please tell us about a recently published book you’ve read (published within the last two years) and why it stood out to you. Please also tell us why you feel you are from a background underrepresented in publishing.

Longlisted candidates will be invited for a virtual interview.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an in-person interview.

Eligibility

Applications for the Felicity Bryan Mentorship Scheme are open to anyone over 18, based in the UK or Ireland, who considers themselves under-represented in the publishing industry on the grounds of ethnicity, disability, sexuality, gender, class or any other circumstances.

Please note: We are unable to consider applicants on student visas or those with restricted working hours.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.