Meet the Publishing Team

So much work goes into publishing the best fiction titles possible, that a whole team of people are involved. On this page you’ll find a bit of information about each person who helps to keep things running smoothly here at Inspired Quill.

Book editors, business development, book cover designers and formatters… Meet our publishing team!

Headshot of publisher Sara-Jayne Slack
You can never get a cup of tea large enough, or a book long enough, to suit me.
C.S. Lewis

Sara-Jayne Slack

Founder

I often joke that the only way I could step foot into the publishing industry is by creating my own publishing house.

After receiving an English MA, winning an entrepreneurship award via Enterprise Inc., and officially incorporating Inspired Quill as a not-for-profit social enterprise at the University of Leicester in 2011, I moved to Oxford. My eyes were opened to the fast-paced world of digital marketing, and the opportunities presented by SEO, CRO and community engagement.

After moving to Madrid in 2016, I worked as a Focus Mentor and Editorial Consultant before landing a job at one of Europe’s largest wealth management firms, where I earned an Investment Management accreditation. From there I moved on to be a Project Management Ninja, working fully remotely for 5 years (even before Covid-19).

Through all of this, Inspired Quill – along with the people involved – has been a huge part of my life. In the last decade, I have given numerous talks at conventions, festivals and online tele-summits about non-tokenistic diversity in fiction publishing and how writers can break into the publishing industry in general.

I’ve also created an online course: ‘Casual Readers to Committed Fans’ which has received such good reviews that more online courses are on the cards as future projects.

When not working at my current Day Job of being an SEO for investing.com (UK), doing disability advocacy (mostly around Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or keeping things ticking along here at Inspired Quill, I can usually be found hoarding stationery, eating tapas and (trying) to learn Spanish.

Headshot of Editor Laura Cayuela
If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
Haruki Murakami

Laura Cayuela Ferrero

Business Development & Editor

I’m the one that makes sure that the tasks here at Inspired Quill are properly prioritised and not forgotten.

My Inspired Quill role sees me performing whatever tasks the MD lets me get my hands on — whether that’s editing and proofreading (with a particular love for the literary genre), designing and creating images and book trailers for social media or (kindly) trying to keep the MD from getting distracted by interesting but non-essential tasks.

My passion for both language and literature has been ever-present in my academic career, too. After completing my undergraduate degree in English Philology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, I went on to complete my Masters in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language at Universidad de Alcalá.

I’ve spoken at numerous international conferences about gender and intercultural communication, so I find it very rewarding to be a part of Inspired Quill’s story, where I can champion our commitment to diversity.

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”
Oscar Wilde

Ken Damon

Publishing Assistant (Aquisition & Editorial)

When I’m not working (or reading!) I’m a final-year student in Creative Writing at Keele University in Stoke-on-Trent, England. My form of choice is prose, with a keen interest in flash fiction that presents the unspoken conflicts of everyday life. I also dabble in scriptwriting.

My love of words was founded growing up near the literary city of Lowell, Massachusetts, and followed me across the Atlantic to university. Since then, I’ve founded, then run as web editor, the Keele Creative Writing website, and am a part-time staff writer for The Vagabond’s Verse literary magazine.

My second grade teacher once commented that I was a ‘reserved writer,’ that the vivid stories I told aloud had trouble making their way on the page. Since then, I’ve been published in various in-print and online publications, as well as awarded second prize in the Hive Young Writers Competition, 2025.

Headshot of freelance designer Venetia Jackson

Venetia Jackson (Chocolateraisinfury)

Freelance Designer

I’m a freelance Illustrator, Graphic Designer, and hobbyist Photographer from Petersfield in Hampshire.

I spent two years completing a Foundation Degree in Creative Digital Media certified by Bath University, while having a few repeat freelance jobs on the side. I now have 3 years of creating and selling my own art behind me, as well as repeat freelance work with a few businesses.

A bit of a perfectionist, occasionally picky, all the while being a bit dopey, mildly quirky, and almost constantly chipper, makes a dangerous combination for a working personality but I make the most of what I’ve got!

I’m responsible for the covers of (amongst others): Heroine Chic, Under The Shell, The Old Ways and Waters and the Wild.

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