The event was opened by host Lord Black of Brentwood, who lauded the awards as a “beacon for young talent” adding that after a two-year pandemic enforced hiatus for the in-person event it was clear “the talent is as bright and as shining as ever”.
He described 2022 as a “bumper year” for the awards, which received just under 114 entries from people aged 18-30 years. Those submissions were whittled down to 52 winners from 40 companies, with each winner receiving a grant worth up to £1,500 to help them develop their careers.
Lord Black said the winners represented a true cross section of the sector from print and publishing to paper, journalism and graphic arts.
“This sector once used to be thought of as being dominated by men. So, I’m absolutely thrilled that of the winners this year, 40 are women. That is a real cause for celebration – the ladies have stolen the show.
“It’s awards like this and the message they send that will help all of us keep on challenging outdated perceptions of the sector, breaking down any remaining barriers and showing how very real is our commitment to equality diversity and inclusion.”
The recipients were selected by independent judging panels made up of 22 professionals working in the worlds of education and training, manufacturing, packaging, printing and publishing.
According to The Printing Charity CEO Neil Lovell the judges were blown away by the quality of the entries and the enthusiasm of the entrants and he encouraged those that perhaps weren’t successful this year, or didn’t enter, to think about and detail how the grant would help them develop their career in any future entry.
Lovell used his welcome to highlight how the awards, which will celebrate their 20th anniversary next year, “shine a light on the future and current talent” in the sector.
“One thing we’ve learned over the past few years is you can’t predict the future… what we do know is that to thrive you need to adapt. Our sector does that, but it’s made up of people and it’s the young people in the room today [and the young] people joining sector that are doing amazing things, that these awards are about,” he said.
He added that the without the new generations joining, the sector wouldn’t be able to thrive, wouldn’t be able to adapt and he implored Rising Stars past and present to use their voices to encourage more young people to join the industry because “without you this sector will die, and we need more and more [young] people to join”.
Lovell thanked the reception sponsor Unite the Union and The Publishing Training Centre which supported the production of the winners’ certificates.
All participants acknowledged that the reception being held in such illustrious surroundings the same day that Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he would resign, ensuring a huge media presence outside, only added to the buzz around the event. This caused Lord Black to highlight that the last, in-person awards reception at the House of Lords also coincided with political upheaval.
“There was febrile excitement in Westminster [that day] about a vital vote which Theresa May lost and led directly to her resignation and installation of Boris Johnson. Future Prime Ministers ought probably be aware of the curse of The Printing Charity,” he quipped.
2022 Rising Star Awards Winners
Click on each discipline for more information on the winners
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT
Tayler Regan, Paragon Customer Communications
Dominic Booth, FFEI
Ben Bray, Paragon Customer Communications
Chelsea Davis, Coveris
Chelsea Graham, Bloomsbury
Gerard Shields, Printpool Additive Manufacturing
Jack Taylor, Bluetree Group
Jessica Thompson, Liverpool University Press
Charlotte Wells, Tradeprint
Sara Wilkinson, Communisis
Sophie Allott, Bluetree Group
MARKETING SKILLS
Victoria Blackwell, Page Bros
Casey Davoren, Little, Brown Book Group
Jessica Du Plessis, Webmart
Louise Gyles, Qualvis Print & Packaging
Lauryn Hall, Springfield Solutions
Helena Heald, Edinburgh University Press
Millie Higham, Tharstern
Stephanie Killelay, Precision Proco
Maria Omena-Neale, Sage Publishing
Molly Turner, Propack Direct Mail
Lucinda Waller, Hahnemühle UK
Rose Wolfe-Emery, Oxford University Press
PRACTICAL SKILLS
Lauren Baldwin, Bluetree Group
Spencer Batchelor, Harmsworth Printing
Joe Della, Harmsworth Printing
Ben Eliot, Harmsworth Printing
Émilie Hames, Penguin Random House UK
Elsie Hargate, Bluetree Group
Morven McIntyre, DC Thomson
Samuel O'Neill, Actionpoint Packaging
Frances Preston, Adare SEC
Jack Sanger, Amberley Labels
Oliver Smith, Bluetree Group
PUBLISHING SKILLS
Rosie Catcheside, Mslexia Publications
Hannah Chukwu, Penguin Random House UK
Suzanne Connelly, Ebury, Penguin Random House
Daniela Ferrante, Fairlight Books
Florence Hassall, Oxford University Press
Isabel Martin, Headline Fiction
Lydia Osborne, Liverpool University Press
Hannah Penny, Farshore, HarperCollins
Verity Rimmer, National Trust
Kate Sassienie, Hachette UK
Katie Shearer, Orphans Publishing
Verity Stuart, Wiley
Katherine Totterdell, Class Professional Publishing
JOURNALISM
Hannah Bradfield, Journo Resources
Michael Crossland, student, Leeds Beckett University
Cyann Fielding, student, Royal Holloway, University of London
Annabelle Gauntlett, The Edinburgh Evening News
Dom Smith, student, University of York
