In this episode, we delve into the importance of unions in the publishing industry with Zainab Juma - Mother of Chapel at Penguin Random House. We question how unionised publishing is as an industry, the affection professionals have for the industry and whether that equates to fair transaction of labour. We also address the exodus of editors leaving the industry, the strength in numbers that a union provides, and the myth that working in publishing ‘for the love of books’ is remuneration enough.
Zainab Juma
Twitter: @PRHUKUnions
Mentioned in this episode
National Union of Journalists: https://www.nuj.org.uk/join.html / on Twitter: @NUJofficial & @NUJBook (for their Book branch)
Unite: https://join.unitetheunion.org/ / on Twitter: @unitetheunion
Psychological barrier around the £9.99 paperback: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/new-chapter-publishers-paperbacks-profit-lockdown-latest-xb8z2gw5v
Editors leaving the industry: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/pandemic-and-long-hours-prompt-editors-to-turn-to-agenting
Hosted, edited & produced by Siobhan ‘Shiv’ Humphries (SYP UK Podcast Officer)
Twitter: @SYP_UK
Website: https://thesyp.org.uk
If you have any questions about this episode, or wish to partake in the show then drop us a line at: podcast.syp@gmail.com