The Board

The Women’s Prize Trust is governed by a board of trustees, who bring a wealth of experience from a range of professional backgrounds.

Trustees are responsible for the governance, strategic direction, general management and control of the charity, and for the appointment of the trust director.

Trustees:

Anna Rafferty (Chair)

Anna Rafferty is Vice President: Direct Consumer Engagement at The LEGO Group. She leads direct consumer engagement globally for the LEGO group, for children and adults alike, which includes digital, apps, websites, magazines, events, games, publishing etc. Prior to The LEGO Group, Anna worked as Global Digital Director at BBC Studios. She developed the BBC’s direct-to-consumer offerings, leading the company’s short-form and social content production unit ‘Digital Studios’ and BBC Studios’ vast YouTube and AVOD network and worked particularly on the BBC’s global franchise brands including BBC Earth, Doctor Who, Top Gear and Children’s.

Anna joined BBC Studios from Pottermore, JK Rowling’s digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news company where she was Director of Product, Content and Creative. Prior to Pottermore, she spent 11 years working for Penguin Books where she was MD for its Digital and Audio Division. Anna is also a Commissioner for the Digital Futures Commission, and sits on the Media, Entertainment & Sports Council for the World Economic Forum.

Anita Anand

Anita Anand has been a radio and television journalist for over twenty years. On BBC television she has presented, among other shows, Daily Politics, The Heaven and Earth Show and Newsnight. She is currently the presenter of Any Answers on BBC Radio 4. Her first book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, received widespread acclaim. Her new book, The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India’s Quest for Independence will be published in August. Anita was a judge for the Women’s Prize in 2018.

Alison Barrow

A senior industry-respected entertainment and PR publishing professional, Alison is a multi award-winning book publicist with experience of launching writing careers, managing major figures and creating global brands. Alison has worked in UK publishing for 30 years,  establishing an unparalleled network of contacts across the industry, media and bookselling landscape.  Responsible for leading a team of publicists and developing and implementing creative, tailored and impactful cross-platform campaigns.

Felicity Blunt 

Felicity Blunt is a literary agent at Curtis Brown and is always on the lookout for debut authors to work with. She represents authors across a number of genres in fiction including historical, psychological suspense and literary. They include Rosamund Lupton, Renee Knight, Tamar Cohen and the Estate of Daphne du Maurier.

Lou Cordwell OBE

Lou began her career working for WPP before founding Manchester-based digital design studio, magneticNorth (mN). In 2021, mN was acquired by Fluxx, creating the UK’s leading design and innovation consultancy, Magnetic, where Lou continues to be involved as Chief Creative Officer. Alongside the day job, she is Chair of Greater Manchester’s Business Board (LEP) and an active angel investor, with a particular focus on female tech founders. Lou was awarded an OBE in the 2018 New Year’s Honours for services to the creative and digital economy.

Scarlett Curtis

Scarlett Curtis is a writer, activist, and journalist. She has published two Sunday Times bestselling books and is the co-founder of the activist collective, The Pink Protest. In November 2019 Scarlett Curtis was awarded the Changemaker Award for young activists presented by Equality Now. She is a UN Women UK advocate and sits on the advisory board for Gucci’s Chime for Change.

Sarah Davis

Sarah is an experienced GC and legal leader delivering business and regulatory change for digital media organisations. She spent many years at the Guardian Media Group and more recently at ITV PLC. Sarah has advised members of the European Commission, UK government departments and trade associations on media policy, and has appeared before parliamentary select committees on behalf of the media and creative industries sector. Sarah spent many years as Chair of Poet in the City, an Arts Council England, National Portfolio Organisation and as a trustee of the Society of Author’s Charitable Incorporated Organisation and Audit committee. She is also a Vice Chair of Unicef UK.

Jenny Izumi Fry

Jenny Izumi Fry is Publisher and Commercial Director at Canongate, leading the Editorial, Rights, Sales, Publicity, and Marketing departments. She worked previously at Little, Brown, Penguin Press, and Penguin General. Jenny is on the boards of Canongate Books and the Independent Publishers Guild.

Photo credit: Alan Nevens

Louise Jury

Louise Jury is a communications and public affairs consultant and writer, working for the Belarus Free Theatre and clients across the creative sector. She was formerly director of communications and marketing for ScreenSkills, which develops off-screen talent for the UK’s screen industries, and headed strategic communications for the Creative Industries Federation advocacy body in its critical start-up phase.

For many years she covered the Women’s Prize for Fiction, as chief arts correspondent of the London Evening Standard and arts and media correspondent of The Independent in a journalism career that included campaigns on issues such as Third World debt, Nazi gold and the National Blood Service. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts in 2001.

Sandeep Mahal

Sandeep Mahal is a Leadership Associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, co-leading a strategic review of the organisation and renewing their Equity, Diversity, Justice and Inclusion strategy. She is also Director of Sector Change at people make it work, leading the development of the Office for Leadership Transition. From 2016 to 2021, Sandeep was Director of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature where she oversaw the development and growth of Nottingham as a vital place of creative exchange and celebration for literature, as well as providing creative and strategic leadership of a new charitable company. She has uniquely nurtured a new generation of voices, whilst championing Nottingham’s’ literary scene internationally and chairing the UNESCO Cities of Literature Network from 2017-2021. She is a highly experienced, collaborative and inclusive leader with over ten years’ experience of working at senior levels in the arts, libraries and cultural sector. As a Clore Leadership Fellow and trained facilitator, she has collaborated with people and organisations who are ready to explore possibilities and opportunities for creative & leadership development.  

Raifa Rafiq

Raifa Rafiq is an investment funds lawyer at one of the leading international law firms in the US. She is also a contributing author to It’s Not About The Burqa and has written for the Guardian, Refinery29, iNews and Stylist Magazine amongst others. Raifa is the co-creator and co-host of the multi-award-winning literature and pop culture podcast, Mostly Lit and has appeared at Literature Festivals, BBC radio and interviewed authors for BBC Sunday Morning Live and Waterstones.

Aliceson Robinson

Aliceson is a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, with a focus on Media & Entertainment and Consumer Digital.  A passionate reader since the age of three, she is also a Trustee for the Royal Academy of Dance.

Zainab Weller

Zainab is the Chief of Staff for Homes for Santander UK. She was born in Nigeria and has lived in the UK for the last 26 years. She has a background in accounting and consulting, having previously worked for IBM, Morgan Stanley and Accenture. She is also a chair of the Ethnicity@Work employee resource group. There is nothing like a good book – it can cure, care and make you cry in every good way.

Debbie Wosskow

Debbie Wosskow OBE is recognised as one of the most prominent serial entrepreneurs in the UK, known for successfully launching and scaling businesses in the areas of digital disruption, the sharing economy and female empowerment. She was the Founder and CEO of Love Home Swap, sold to Wyndham Destination Networks for $53m in July 2017.

As co-founder and chairperson of AllBright, Debbie, along with her co-founder Anna Jones (former CEO of Hearst), aims to close the gender-based funding gap that currently prevents many women from launching and succeeding with their business ideas.

Click here to read about the executive team.