What Are Your Rights Panel - Bios
Anna Ganley is Chief Executive of the Society of Authors – the UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators. Anna is responsible for overseeing the running of the organisation and driving the SoA’s mission of empowering and supporting authors. Anna is also Chair of the Creators’ Rights Alliance, board member of the International Authors’ Forum and she sits on the London Book Fair Advisory Board.
Barbara Hayes started her career in direct marketing. Having spent seven years in the US designing and marketing properties, she returned to the UK to work within the International Department of a major multinational HR consultancy. Barbara joined ALCS in January 2004 where she focussed initially on HR. She then took over responsibility for Communications and Membership, looking at ways in which ALCS raises its profile amongst the membership, potential members and the public in general and devising successful marketing and membership recruitment strategies. She has also been involved with the work of the All-Party Writers Group, seeking opportunities to bring issues regarding writers to the attention of the appropriate parliamentarians. Barbara represented ALCS for a number of years on the Board of The Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) or Société des Auteurs Audiovisuels. In November 2015 Barbara became Chair of the SAA.
John Sailing has worked for the WGGB for nearly 8 years and is responsible for leading the casework team, advising members on contractual and copyright issues. John also plays a key role in WGGB and joint union campaigns, leading on the equality, diversity and inclusion work of the union and organising members across the country.
Silé Edwards joined Andrew Nurnberg Associates as an agent in 2022 bringing with her the dynamic and varied list of commercial fiction and accessible non-fiction authors that had built in just two years. Her publishing career started after various internships in publishing houses, with a Communications and Marketing role at the Publishers Association before she moved to the books department at Curtis Brown. In 2021, Silé was named a Trailblazer for her innovation, flair and ambition in the book industry and she regularly writes comment pieces on the industry for The Bookseller.