It’s hard to believe another year is almost over. 2023 has shot by almost in the blink of an eye, and has certainly been one to remember for us. We’ve had new hires, team meetups and more. We’ve also had the pleasure of working with our wonderful existing and returning clients throughout this year.
We want to thank everyone who has made this year so great, and we can’t wait to enter 2024 with new ideas, great colleagues and innovative clients.
In the meantime, what are some of the highlights of this year? Discover what’s been going on with us through 2023 with our year in review.
We gained three brilliant members of staff
2023 was a year of growth for us here at The International Bunch. We were delighted to introduce three integral, talented people to our diverse team:
Sharnie Dunstall started out as the Executive PA to Lou in January 2023. Thanks to her hard work, dedication, and unwavering care for our team, Sharnie has since been promoted to Inclusivity and Operations Specialist, which will play a key role in helping our team and our clients in 2024.
Emma Williams joined us as a Marketing Executive in January 2023. Emma primarily helps with client and internal content creation, but assists with tasks across the marketing spectrum. You can learn about Emma and Sharnie in our blog post from earlier this year.
Rowan Pierce, our newest team member. Rowan joined the team in October as our Copyeditor and Sensitivity Specialist. They play a key role in ensuring that all content is considered through an accessibility and inclusivity lens and support the team with vital copyediting that ensures all content is of a high quality for our clients. Learn more about Rowan in their introductory blog post.Â
Meeting clients and colleagues face to face
Remote working has many benefits, and we’re big advocates of it here. Our team and freelancers hail from all over the world, which invites fresh perspectives and a diverse pool of talent in our midst. It does mean, however, that we don’t often get to see our wonderful clients and colleagues face to face.
We always delight in meeting in person, which we had the opportunity to do on several occasions this year. We also had the chance to stay updated with the latest industry trends and events through fantastic networking events.
Lou and Megan attended London Book Fair earlier this year. This allowed us to meet with both old and new faces in the industry. We also enjoyed attending the scholarly publishing sessions – you can check out some of the highlights from the sessions in our blog post, including updates on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) and a library panel discussion.
We had the excellent opportunity to meet up at ALPSP, for the first time as almost a whole team. We also participated in a fascinating walking tour of Manchester, where we met several industry colleagues in a relaxed setting. Discover the highlights of the sessions attended, including industry insights, in our blog post.Â
Lou attended Frankfurt Book Fair from 18 - 22 October 2023.
To end a great year, we had an early holiday meetup in November in the beautiful Gower Peninsula, the home of our CEO, Lou. We also had the opportunity to take some incredible photographs with Tim Gillett.
New committee positions
We pride ourselves on playing an active role in our wider community. This year, members of the team got involved in various committees and voluntary roles.
Lou and Megan played an active role as part of the mentoring scheme for ALPSP.
Lou stepped down as chair of the committee for CILIP Cymru Wales, while Emma joined the committee to provide marketing and communications support.
Lou continued to support ALPSP as a director.
Lou joined the Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries this year as a mentor.
Sharnie became part of the C4DISK – Community of Practice Committee.
Emma participated in Peer Review Week as part of the Steering Committee.
Looking ahead to 2024
2023 has been full of exciting developments throughout our industry, but expanding and developing our team to support our clients further has been a highlight. We can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store.
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We’re proud to be part of such a fascinating, ever evolving industry and love working with a diverse client base. Start 2024 off strong – stay updated with future developments from us and the latest news in the industry by subscribing to our email alerts.
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