The Royal Society of Literature and King’s 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, Theatre, Bookselling, Creative Writing, and Agencies.

During this event which 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; theatre artist and academic, Mojisola Adebayo; former literary agent and multidisciplinary advisor, Suresh Ariaratnam; co-founder of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, Nic Bottomley and Young Creatives Manager for First Story, Rose Condo.

This event will be chaired by the founder of Women of the Wick, Sara Kärpänen.

About the speakers

Professor Mojisola Adebayo, BA, MA, PhD, FHEA, FRSL, is an award-winning theatre artist and academic (Queen Mary, University of London), creating internationally for 30 years, from Antarctica to Zimbabwe. Some of Mojisola’s published and performed plays include Moj of the Antarctic, Muhammad Ali and Me, 48 Minutes for Palestine, I Stand Corrected, The Interrogation of Sandra Bland, Wind / Rush Generation(s), Family Tree and STARS. Books include Mojisola Adebayo: Plays One and Plays Two, the co-written Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners and Agri/cultural Practices for Climate Justice. Mojisola’s latest play is resisters. Mojisola is a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner currently co-developing theatre to improve sickle cell care.

Suresh Ariaratnam has worked in the creative industries for twenty-five years. Formerly a literary and talent agent who focused on representing authors from Black and Asian communities, he now advises and acts on behalf of the multidisciplinary artists Johny Pitts and Jay Bernard. As a non-executive director for NHS Dorset HealthCare and NHS Somerset, he is especially interested in the broader socio-economic determinants of health and their relationship to inequalities. Suresh also serves as a co-chair of Literature Works, a trustee of Trussell, a director of Norland College, and a member of the British Library Advisory Council. In 2022, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset in 2024.

Nic Bottomley is co-founder of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, the welcoming and irreverent independent bookshop in Bath which has twice been named Independent Bookshop of the Year (UK and Ireland) and is known for bookselling innovations such as The Reading Spa, one of the UK’s largest bespoke reading subscription programmes and being the birthplace of The Bookshop Band. Nic co-founded publisher Fox, Finch & Tepper to give new life to beloved out of print books. A former council member, Vice-President and President of the Bookseller’s Association of UK and Ireland, Nic is now its Executive Chair and also sits on the board of Batch and National Book Tokens.

Rose Condo is the Young Creatives Manager for First Story, a creative writing charity that empowers young writers with the skills and confidence to tell their own stories. Rose is also a writer and performance poet and loves exploring using creative writing for wellbeing. Originally from Canada, she has published two poetry collections with Manchester’s Flapjack Press, and she has toured her poetry performance work across the UK and internationally. She has lots of experience in building arts projects and is a keen believer in how creative engagement can support young people and communities to thrive.

Sara Kärpänen is a published writer, Founder of Women of the Wick media, and the Arts Programme Director at the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland. Her acclaimed stage poetry has been performed across Europe, with recent appearances at the Serpentine Galleries, the Barbican Centre and Somerset House. A public speaker and advocate for equality in the arts, Sara teaches on the power of personal and poetic storytelling. With nearly two decades of experience in the creative and media sectors, she is dedicated to elevating underrepresented voices and fostering artistic expression through storytelling, curation and publishing.

Key Information

This event will be livestreamed via Zoom. You will receive the viewing link the morning of the event (Wednesday 11 February). If you do not receive the link by 12pm BST, please email info@rsliterature for assistance.

This event will be recorded. The recording will be posted on our YouTube (@RSLiterature) after the event date and will be sent to all who registered. Please note the recording may be sent a few weeks after the event date due to editing.