What this is all about…

Marginal Changemakers is one of our core programmes here at Comics Youth CIC. We are looking for 10 young people aged 14-25 to join our current cohort and lead the fight in making publishing and the media people read, more inclusive and accessible.

You will be at the forefront of our Marginal Publishing House, The first youth-led publishing house in the UK, working together to make publishing a more inclusive space over a series of campaigns.

We’re currently finishing our first campaign, where we created an Inclusivity Charter for UK publishers to adopt. You will be joining our second campaign, Shelftalkers, which is aimed at improving the way we display, discuss and recommend graphic novels by marginalised creators by engaging with booksellers and bookshops!

If you enjoy Shelftalkers, you can stay on for subsequent campaigns, where you will be organising national publishing conferences and designing your own publishing campaigns!

But how does it work?

-The sessions are hosted weekly on Fridays, from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

-The sessions are hosted in person at our MAKE CIC office, but each session can be joined online via Microsoft Teams.

-Each campaign is twelve sessions long, with the option to join subsequent campaigns if you’re interested.

-You will be joining our second campaign, Shelftalkers, which is aimed at celebrating graphic novels by marginalised voices and engaging with booksellers to promote them.

- Starting from March 22nd, You will spend 12 sessions learning about bookselling, bookshops and designing a campaign to improve the way comic books are sold in UK shops!

You do not need any education or experience within publishing, comics or activism to join our programme. All you need to be is yourself and bring bags of passion for making the world a kinder place!

We are looking for people who are:

- Passionate about inclusivity and making publishing more accessible.

- Readers! You don’t have to read a novel a day, but if you enjoy books and discussing your recent reads, this is the group for you!

-Aged 14-25 years old and living/studying in the North West.

-Able to join sessions weekly, either by joining online or by travelling to Make CIC, 2 Cleveland Street, Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, CH14 6ND. We have paid travel bursaries which you can request if needed.

-If joining online, have access to a device that you can join online calls from.

-Be from a marginalised community. (This may be somebody who is from an ethnic majority, disabled, neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+, a young carer, living in poverty, care experienced, living with insecure housing- or anybody who is unlikely to access publishing/change making spaces).

If you would like to join the incredible work to make publishing better for everybody- please fill out a Membership Form, indicating that you want to join Marginal Changemakers.

Once you have done this, you will receive an email invite to our Induction Session on March 22nd, with weekly sessions beginning on April 5th!

If you have any questions please email ollie@comicsyouth.co.uk.

If this programme isn’t for you, we can discuss other ways you can engage in our work that may be more suited to you :)