Aki Schilz, Hon.

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

, is a British writer, poet and editor, who is director of

The Literary Consultancy The Literary Consultancy (TLC) is a UK-based editorial consultancy service that was founded in 1996, becoming the first service of its kind to offer "professional, in-depth editorial advice and assessment to anyone writing in the English languag ...

. She is also the current vice-chair of

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

Background

Born in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan, Schilz moved to the United Kingdom in 1987 and is now resident in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She holds a BA degree in English and French Literature from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and an MA in Creative Writing with Distinction from

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshi ...

. Following further studies, she worked in a variety administrative roles—including for the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, as an advertising copywriter, for a games production company and on a travel website—and then undertook publishing internships with such companies as

Granta Books ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

and the ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'', as well as being employed as Acquisitions Assistant at

Jessica Kingsley Publishers Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP) is a multinational publishing house headquartered in London. It was founded as an independent publisher in 1987 by Jessica Kingsley. Since 2017, JKP operates as an imprint of John Murray Press. History Early ...

. As a writer, her poems and short stories have appeared online and in print in many outlets, among them '' Mslexia'', ''Popshot Magazine'', ''Synaesthesia'', ''Ink'', ''Sweat & Tears'', ''And Other Poems'', ''Mnemoscape'', ''Birdbook: Saltwater and Shore'', ''CHEAP POP'', and the 2016 anthology ''An Unreliable Guide to London''. She co-founded, with Influx Press publisher Kit Caless, the LossLit digital literature project, and she has also been a judge for various literary awards including the Bridport Prize and the Creative Future Writing Awards, as well as a regular participant and speaker at conferences and events, particularly about promoting diversity and inclusivity in the publishing industry. In 2012, she joined

(TLC), the UK's first editorial assessment service, being appointed Editorial Services Manager the following year, and she has been director of the company since the death of its founding director Rebecca Swift in 2017. In 2018, Schilz set up the Rebecca Swift Foundation, a charity that advances the craft, creativity and wellbeing of women poets. She is a trustee of Poetry London and is on the advisory board of independent publishing company Penned in the Margins. Since 2021, Schilz has served on the board of

, taking over the role of vice-chair from

Claire Armitstead Claire Armitstead FRSL is a British journalist and author. She is Associate Editor (Culture) at ''The Guardian'', where she has worked since 1992. She is also a cultural commentator on literature and the arts, and makes appearances on radio and t ...

, with

Ruth Borthwick Ruth Borthwick, Hon. FRSL, is a British arts administrator, literature executive and educator, who for more than three decades has worked with writers in bookselling and publishing, and as an advocate for literature in the UK and internationally. ...

as chair.

Recognition

Schilz won the inaugural Visual Verse Prize (2013), supported by

Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Peter Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and a ...

, and the inaugural Bare Fiction Prize for Flash Fiction (2014), judged by Angela Readman. She was a Queen's Ferry Press Finalist (Best Small Fictions), and in 2015 was chosen by

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...

to feature in the Wigleaf Top 50. Schilz has twice featured on the ''Bookseller'' 150 list of the most influential people in UK publishing (in 2020 and 2021), for her work campaigning for more equitable cultures within the publishing and creative industries. In 2023, she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

References

External links

"Interrogating Bodies: Irenosen Okojie in Conversation with Aki Schilz"
''PEN Transmissions'', 30 April 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schilz, Aki Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century British women writers Alumni of Bath Spa University Alumni of the University of Oxford British Asian writers British women poets Japanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people People from Osaka Women arts administrators