Listening Books has a dedicated team of staff, trustees and volunteers who work hard to provide the best possible service to members. If you are interested in being a part of the Listening Books team, please visit www.listening-books.org.uk/work-for-us to view any current opportunities.
If you would like to volunteer, click here for more details.
In addition to serving as director of Listening Books, Bill serves in a number of advisory roles across the Public and Third sectors. He has also served as a Trustee to several charities.
Bill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005 and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He was a Finalist at the Director of the Year Awards in 2013 (London and the South East) in the Public and Third Sector category.
Email BillLouise joined Listening Books in April 2004 on a six-month contract to cover maternity leave. Initially, she worked full time in the library and then moved on to divide her time equally between the library and our sponsored membership programme.
Louise now manages the library and looks after the charities marketing and PR. In her spare time Louise looks after her two young children, and tries to fit in as much reading/listening as she can.
Email LouiseRobert joined the charity in September 2009, having previously worked for King’s College London - as both administrative and research assistant - and as a volunteer in the education & student team at Amnesty International.
Robert now manages Listening Books’ fundraising and admin operations. Robert loves to read, particularly non-fiction, whenever time allows.
Email RobertClaire joined Listening Books in August 2018. Prior to this, she studied English Literature with Geography at the University of Gloucestershire and went on to work in roles supporting volunteers at the charities Age UK Bromley & Greenwich and Alzheimer's Society. She volunteers for a local arts charity during the summer.
Email ClaireAmy joined Listening Books in August 2014 as an Acting Copyright Co-ordinator to cover maternity leave. Prior to joining Listening Books she studied Film and Literature at Warwick University and worked for a camera hire company and as an administrator for ITV. In her spare time she enjoys writing, reading and volunteering at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Email AmyAfter graduating from the University of Surrey, Roehampton in 2005, Claire worked as publicity officer and administrative assistant for Bexley Academy of Music and Performing Arts. She joined Listening Books in May 2008 as a membership services assistant.
Email ClaireJeremy joined Listening Books in 2003 and enjoys helping our members. He previously worked in an adventure playground and as a chef.
Email JeremyEdward joined Listening Books in 2021 as a Membership Support Officer after volunteering for the charity. He has worked as a tutor and bookseller. A keen reader of books and audiobooks, he also loves NBA basketball.
Email EdwardPiah joined Listening Books in May 2023 as a part-time Membership Support Assistant. She is currently studying Astrophysics at King’s College London and also works at an art gallery. Reading books (particularly translated fiction) is her favourite pastime, but she also enjoys weightlifting, going on long walks, and writing/painting.
Email PiahJenny joined Listening Books in February 2013 as a bookkeeper from a marketing agency in Central London. She loves Sci-fi books, especially anything to do with Star Trek. Jenny also really enjoys doing voluntary work in her spare time.
Email JennySean is a seasoned recording engineer with a background in television audio post production and music production. He joined the team in late 2019 and produces commercial audiobooks for our clients for Listening Books Productions. He’s a horror and sci-fi geek and will read anything with a good scare!
Email SeanJessica Stone cut her audio teeth in radio, but moved to audiobook production when she realised she could combine her love of books with her skill in sound. Jessica creates the in-house Sound Learning titles for Listening Books as well as commercial audiobooks to ACX standards for Listening Books Productions. As the producer, she oversees every stage of the process with care, from casting and directing to recording, editing and mastering.
Martin has been accountant at Listening Books since 1998. A Chartered Accountant and Finance graduate from the University of Wales, he manages the accounts of several not-for-profit companies. He also studied engineering and philosophy at university and counts reading amongst his most enjoyable pursuits.
Gillie Howarth is former Head of English at Westminster Under School where she is now responsible for the school’s Public Benefit and Outreach programme. She is a passionate believer in the capacity of books to open up new worlds for young and old alike. One of her first initiatives at Listening Books was to develop the children’s library and she is a keen advocate of the charity’s educational programme, Sound Learning, which gives young people who have difficulties accessing or decoding print the opportunity to excel alongside their peers. ‘Listening to stories goes far back into prehistory and is the original way knowledge passed down through generations. Far from being a second best option, listening captures the distinctive atmosphere of a book in a way reading may fail to do. After all, which of us would prefer to read a play rather than see it? Once you have listened to a great book, you feel the same way’.
Anne-Marie Williams has been treasurer of Listening Books since 2006. It is her job to make sure the charity's money is properly looked after, something which is obviously vital for the charity's success. As treasurer she draws on her previous work experience in the City, firstly as an investment analyst for a stockbroker, and then as a fund manager for an insurance company. Anne-Marie says, 'I value my role in the charity since I believe passionately in what the charity does, and feel strongly that books should be available to be enjoyed by everyone, whatever their circumstances.'
Julia is a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, and The Guardian’s children’s books editor. She is a judge of the Branford Boase first novel prize and was a judge for the Whitbread Children’s Book prize in 2001. She won the Eleanor Farjeon Award in 2000 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to children’s books. In addition to numerous anthologies, her books include 'Treasure Island: The Woman’s Hour Guide to Children’s Reading' (BBC Books, 1987), 'A Guide to the Harry Potter Novels' (Continuum, 2002), 'Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Portraits of Children’s Writers' (National Portrait Gallery, 2002) and, with Nicholas Tucker, 'The Rough Guide to Teenage Books' (Rough Guides, October 2003).
Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson has been connected with the world of books for nearly fifty years. First as a publisher and subsequently managing director of Hamish Hamilton, then as an agent after he left the company which he set up under his own name. He is also a writer, mainly in the area of history. He has been a trustee of Listening Books for over a decade, and has been able to make use of his experience and contacts built up over the years.
David has worked as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy manager for the London borough of Lambeth. He worked with the senior leadership team in schools and their ICT managed service provider to implement Lambeth’s ICT strategy. Previous to this he was the ICT curriculum advisor for Redbridge. He was a secondary national strategy consultant for ICT prior to that. He has 14 years’ teaching experience. He is also an ICT mark assessor. David has completed the graduate certificate in education leadership, management and consultancy at the Institute of Education in London and has a BA degree and higher diploma in education from University College, Cork. He is currently teaching and working as a consultant.
Nick Forster is Regional Manager, EMEA, Global Libraries & Education at OverDrive. His knowledge of the publishing sector and of the commercial audiobook market are an invaluable addition to the board.