Virtual Bookselling Mentorship Cohort 2026 in City of London

Closing date for applications: Friday 8th May 2026 12 midday

Mentoring programme dates: July to December 2026

Do you love books, recommending them, and pressing them into other people’s hands? Are you looking to gain insights into the bookselling sector, develop skills and confidence, and build new connections? Creative Access is excited to launch the second cohort of our new virtual mentoring programme in partnership with the Booksellers Association, designed to support talent from communities currently underrepresented in bookselling.

The programme aims to break down barriers and myths and showcase the rich mix of roles and opportunities on offer within bookselling. It is open to individuals across a range of career stages, from aspiring to mid-level and beyond. There are 15 mentee places available on this year’s programme and successful applicants will be mentored by individuals from across the bookselling community. Mentors will span a range of experience levels from mid-level through to senior leadership.

The Booksellers Association is a membership organisation for all booksellers in the UK & Ireland, representing over 95% of bookshops. The Booksellers Association exists to support, advise and work with its members to create excellent products and services for booksellers. Bookselling is the crucial bridge between publishers and readers and requires a combination of book knowledge, commercial acumen, and strong customer service skills. Booksellers get books into readers’ hands, helping them to find the books they know they want, and to discover the books they didn’t even know they needed.

This programme is designed to be an equal partnership between mentors and mentees and mutually beneficial to both. Mentees will have access to bookselling expertise and the opportunity to discuss their personal and professional development goals. Mentors will have the opportunity to learn from the fresh perspectives of their mentees and challenge their existing ways of thinking.

To help set the new relationships up for success, Creative Access will provide training at an initial Meet and Greet session to both mentors and mentees.

How does the programme work? Through the programme, Creative Access will find and match 15 people with mentors from across the bookselling industry. Where possible, mentees will be matched with a mentor working in the area in which they would like to work or progress their career in. The mentoring programme will focus on individuals over the age of 18 from under-represented communities looking to pursue or progress with their careers in bookselling. This could apply to students at college or university or those who have some professional experience (in bookselling, publishing or wider industries). We also welcome applications from those not currently in education, employment or training.

The mentoring partnerships will run from July 2026 for six months, beginning with an initial virtual Meet and Greet session facilitated by Creative Access, taking place on Wednesday 15th July. Mentees will have the opportunity to meet with their mentor once a month, virtually, for approximately an hour.

What do you need to apply?

• A love of books, an enthusiasm for working with the public, and an interest in pursuing a career in bookselling
• Additionally, a desire to collaborate with an established industry professional in order to learn and to develop professionally (If not already working in bookselling)
• An aim to gain employment in a relevant trainee or entry-level role in the future (If already working in bookselling)
• A desire to secure support with progressing your career within the bookselling industry
• A willingness to engage positively with a mentor on a monthly basis for six months
• A commitment to attend a virtual Meet & Greet session taking place Wednesday 15th July. The Meet & Greet is a group training session designed to set you and your mentor up with everything you need to get off to a great start.

Plus, you’ll need to:

• Be able to participate in 6 monthly virtual sessions with your mentor between July and December 2026
• Be over the age of 18, still in education or training, aspiring to or currently working in bookselling, publishing or the wider creative industries
• Identify as being from a group that is under-represented in the publishing industry. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals who identify as Black, Asian, or from other ethnically diverse backgrounds, or people of any ethnicity who belong to the following under-represented groups: disabled people, people with the characteristic of gender reassignment, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, carers and asylum seekers.