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Welcome to our new trustees

Today, we’re delighted to welcome four new trustees to our General Committee: Mark Gardiner, Sammia Hamer, Dotti Irving, and Rosalynn Try-Hane. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge that will be invaluable to us at the RLF as we develop our programmes and respond to the challenges and opportunities present in today’s literary landscape.

Our President Ian Blatchford and Chief Executive Edward Kemp said of the appointments:

We are excited to welcome these remarkable individuals to our General Committee of Trustees. Their collective expertise, passion for literature, and commitment to diversity will be instrumental in ensuring the Royal Literary Fund reflects the challenges and opportunities that writers face today. These appointments will help us further our mission of supporting professional writers living across the UK and help them adapt to the ever-changing literary world.

Introducing our new Trustees

Mark Gardiner is Chief Financial Officer at Penguin Random House Group. From reading Modern Languages at university to over 30 years working in finance and publishing for Bertelsmann and Penguin Random House, he hopes to make a welcome contribution to the charity’s financial future.

Mark Gardiner said:

I am thrilled to be joining the board of trustees of the RLF. It really is a great honour to have been considered for the post. Despite the seismic changes in the world in which we live, particularly in the realm of the creation, delivery and consumption of the written word, books continue to play a vital role in promoting an open-minded, free and tolerant society. Never has this been more important than today as intolerance and polarisation stalk our planet. The RLF has a key role to play in keeping those forces at bay. I hope to bring those 30 years of business experience to bear at the RLF and so contribute to its further development in its hugely important mission to promote the life-enhancing benefits of the written word.

Sammia Hamer is the Editorial Director at Amazon Publishing. She has been at Amazon for nine years and currently heads up four commercial imprints in the UK. Drawing on 17 years of publishing experience, beginning at Profile Books before moving on to HarperCollins and HQ Books. She represents an array of bestselling authors, including Fiona Valpy, TL Swan, Damien Boyd, Hannah Beckerman and Matt Brolly. Hamer’s appointment will help the RLF foster a greater understanding of how digital and audio are currently shaping the world of publishing.

Sammia Hamer said:

I am thrilled to be part of an organisation that puts writing and writers at the heart of what it does. There is a wealth of undiscovered talent out there, but talent requires sustained support in order to develop and thrive. I look forward to using my experience to help the RLF continue its invaluable work.

Dotti Irving brings wide experience in public relations, communications, and promoting literary works to the RLF. After a decade at Penguin, she founded Colman Getty, a PR agency which specialised in publishing and campaigning, and where she worked with such inspirational writers as William Boyd, Germaine Greer, Charlie Higson, Nigella and J.K. Rowling. For many years, she handled PR for big-ticket literary prizes such as the Booker Prize for Fiction and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction (originally the Samuel Johnson Prize). In July 2022, she stepped down to pursue an independent career in publishing as an associate agent for Greyhound Literary. Irving’s strategic insight will help the RLF strengthen its visibility and outreach to ensure that more writers are aware of the support the charity offers.

Dotti Irving said:

I’m truly honoured to have been invited to be a Trustee of the Royal Literary Fund. The RLF has a fantastic track record of having supported so many important writers over the years – from James Joyce to Ali Smith, and most recently, Edna O’Brien – there a few organisations who can claim to have saved so many important literary voices from financial ruin and obscurity. I look forward to introducing the charity to a new generation of authors and to help spread the word about the brilliant work they do.

Rosalynn Try-Hane is a writer, film critic and lawyer and currently works as an advisory lawyer for a public regulator and has recently been working on the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. As a film critic and writer, she has written and spoken on various subjects, including the Academy Awards, genre and diversity in film, appearing on BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 4. Try-Hane’s vision will help guide the RLF to help the charity navigate and adapt to the changing needs of modern writers.

Rosalynn Try-Hane said:

I am delighted to have become a trustee. I’ve been impressed by the breadth of the fund’s work, including promoting the power of writing and literary expression through its various education and outreach programmes. As an emerging playwright and writer, art is one of the ways we understand the society in which we live and, by extension, the world at large. I am particularly keen on supporting and amplifying writers from diverse and marginalised communities so that they can continue their work to be visible and vocal on the page. The continued existence of the RLF is vital, so writers can continue to help us make sense of the world.

On behalf of all the staff, trustees and Fellows, we wish them a warm welcome and look forward to working together this Autumn.

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