About Us

Gwen is currently Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development at Lowry, a leading arts and cultural venue in Salford. She plays a key role in driving fundraising, partnerships, and strategic development for the organisation, which welcomes over 900,000 visitors annually and delivers world-class performing and visual arts and community engagement programmes. She started her career at Arts & Business working on UK-wide high profile events and brokering business partnerships for NW arts organisations, and later worked for Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, gaining experience in cultural strategy and audience development. She has held roles at Manchester Art Gallery and The Whitworth, working closely on The Whitworth’s opening programme following its £15m capital project in 2015. She is also a Board member of ‘We Invented the Weekend’ festival.

Chris was the Director covering Education, Quality and Commissioning, for the NHS in the North West. He had previously been an NHS trust Finance Director. He was also Lay member for Finance and Governance for NHS Manchester and is a trustee for Manchester HOME and Stockport Plaza. He is a listening volunteer for Samaritans and engaged in suicide prevention training and activities. He is a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion and MP Watch.

Outside of his voluntary activities, Chris does lots of hill walking and tennis and has a wide range of interests including film, theatre, art, architecture and philosophy.

Becca is Marketing Coordinator at Manchester University Press. Previously she was Engagement Manager at Comma Press and co-edited three books of translated fiction: The Book of Tbilisi and The Book of Riga. She has previously served as Secretary then Chair of the Society of Young Publishers North branch (2017-2019) and was shortlisted for the London Book Fair Trailblazer Award in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023. She took part in the first British Council International Publishing Fellowship (2019-2020) and was appointed a Trustee of Manchester Literature Festival in 2021.

After studying English Literature at Manchester University, Erinn joined Granada Television as a researcher. She's since worked in production and business management for both public service and commercial TV across multiple genres and broadcasters, including ITV, the BBC and Apple TV+. She's a fierce advocate for the transformative power of storytelling and a champion of the North-West's literary prowess.

Jo Somerset is a Manchester-based writer whose debut children’s novel Mission: Find Mum will be published in 2024 by Stairwell Books. She is a founder of Chorlton Writers’ Café. In 2020 she won the Leanne Bridgewater Award for Innovation and Experiment at Salford University, where she completed a MA in Creative Writing. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and Out on the Page writers’ network.

Bonnie is currently Director of Communications & Digital for the Hallé Orchestra.  Her career in the arts began at The Bridgewater Hall - Manchester's international concert venue - where she managed events and external partnerships for a range of high-profile clients. Following this, she led on marketing for the School of Arts & Media at University of Salford, before taking up the role of Head of Marketing at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. She then became Director of Marketing & Communications for HOME in Manchester, leading the marketing, communications and customer service strategy.  Previously a Trustee for Proud and Loud Arts, Bonnie currently also sits on the Board for Kantos Chamber Choir.

Ben Ward is the Chief Executive of the University of Manchester Students' Union, one of the largest youth-led charities in the United Kingdom. His career has been focused in the non-profit sector, and he has held a range of senior roles in local and national charities focused on developing young people and their representation. He is the Vice Chair of Hopwood Hall College & University Centre. He was an undergraduate Loughborough University, a Postgraduate at Harvard Kennedy School, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and A Fellow of St George’s House Windsor Castle.

Anne-Marie has managed Creative Manchester, a research platform at The University of Manchester, since its launch in 2018. With undergraduate and master’s degrees in International Business, she has over 25 years' marketing and business experience working in roles across both the private and public sectors. Anne-Marie became a Chartered Marketer in 2005. She has also served as a governor at Cheadle Catholic Infant School, Stockport, since 2015, and was appointed Chair of the Governing Body in 2022. Anne-Marie lives in Stockport with her husband and three children.

Andrew is the National Programme Manager for The Agency at Battersea Arts Centre. Before this, he worked as Engagement Manager (co-creation) for Manchester International Festival. His work defies neat boundaries to include research, socially engaged arts practice, performance, evaluation, writing, and public health. Originating from Australia, Andrew has lived in the UK for 6 years and has worked with a diverse range of organisations including All The Queens Men, Australian Ballet, University of New South Wales & Manchester Craft and Design Centre. He created popular podcast and web-platform, Delving into Dance, with an international audience of 40,000+. Andrew is a current Clore Fellow.