Eric Akoto

Eric Akoto is the Founder of Litro and The Sphere Initiative, bringing over 20 years of experience in publishing with a focus on content protection and technology innovation for creatives. As Litro's Creative Technologist, he leads efforts to develop cutting-edge digital security solutions that empower artists in the digital space. An author and advocate for diverse voices, Eric also founded the Warwick University International Young Writers Competition, which has become a global platform for emerging talent in literature. Outside of work, Eric is a father, a dedicated runner and tennis player, a proponent of fairness and free speech, and a firm believer in the grounding power of morning meditation.

Serene Allen

Serene Allen is our media designer. She is based in London and has a wealth of knowledge in creating bold, dynamic and memorable short form content. Her skills include video editing, VFX, colour grading and sound mixing. She has a passion for storytelling & delivering diversity in content. media@litro.co.uk

Catherine McNamara

Catherine McNamara is our flash fiction masterclass tutor and editor. Catherine grew up in Sydney, ran away to Paris at twenty-one to write, and ended up in West Africa running a bar. Her recent collection of short stories, Love Stories for Hectic People, was nominated for best story collection for the Saboteur Awards 2021. catherine.mcnamara@litro.co.uk

Sophie Lewis

Sophie Lewis is an editor and translator. In 2016 she co-founded Shadow Heroes, a workshops series for students on critical thinking through translation. Her co-translation of Emmanuelle Pagano’s Faces on the Tip of My Tongue was long-listed for the 2020 International Booker Prize. She has collaborated and published works with Noemi Lefebvre.

Jessica Andrews

Litro Masterclasses Tutor

Jessica writes fiction. Her debut novel, Saltwater was published by Sceptre in 2019 and won the Portico Prize in 2020. It explores mother-daughter relationships and shifting class identity in relation to place and the body. Her second novel, Milk Teeth interrogates wanting, denial, food and shame and will be published in July 2022. She writes for the Guardian, the Independent, BBC Radio 4, Stylist and ELLE magazine, among others. She was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Futures in 2022 and nominated for the ELLE list in 2020. She co-runs literary and arts magazine, The Grapevine and co-presents literary podcast, Tender Buttons. She teaches Creative Writing at Roehampton University.

Charlotte Hayes

Charlotte is our fiction editor with a passion for emerging voices and experimental fiction.

Sophie Kim

Sophie is a Junior Associate at Litro.

Bobby Wilson

Bobby Wilson is a writer and editor. He has a podcast exclusively about Black literature, The Most Dangerous Thing in America. He will argue with you about basketball, film or hip-hop (or pretty much anything else) until a consensus is reached. It rarely is.

He is the nonfiction editor.

Kwadwo Gyimah

2024 Fellowship Programme

Civil Engineering graduate currently studying a Master's in Data Science & AI, and four years of experience as a Structural Engineering Apprentice. Expertise in merging engineering principles with data analytics and AI to optimize construction and infrastructure projects. A problem-solver with excellent communication skills, eager to contribute to innovative and technology-driven engineering solutions.