MEET THE TIGERS
founding tigers
DIVIA KAINTH
Divia has eight years’ experience in UK/US sales, marketing and PR across fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. She was Head of Sales and Marketing at Sweet Cherry Publishing and then Head of Marketing and PR at Neem Tree Press. In 2022, Divia was shortlisted for the London Book Fair’s Trailblazer Awards, which recognises publishing’s rising stars. She currently works a part-time freelance sales and marketing role at Little Island Books. Based in Leicester, she is a proud member of Chapter25 Book Club. Romance novels are her guilty pleasure, but her little Shih Tzu is her one true love.
Superpowers: Reading minds, organising chaos, mastering peace … all at the same time. Oh, and multitasking.
Loves: Boy bands, builder’s tea, The Vampire Diaries, Netflix’s ‘based on books’ category.
Books that made me: Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman.
ILONA CHAVASSE
Ilona began her career in advertising and started in publishing as a literary scout. She spent eight years at Atlantic Books, followed by ten years at Oneworld and Unbound. As Rights Director, she managed English-language, translation, audiobook and media rights worldwide. She freelances as an editor and is the translator of several acclaimed novels, as well as prize-winning reportage and other writing.
Superpowers: Being or becoming interested in almost anything, vocabulary, power naps.
Loves: Dogs, gooseberries, and the Oxford comma.
Books that made me: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and Lace by Shirley Conran.
RINA GILL
Rina practiced as a solicitor before helping found four successful start-ups, including a literary festival and her own Olivier-award-winning theatre production company. She’s been twice shortlisted for a Nibbie award for best national publicity campaign at the British Book Awards, first at the biggest publishing house and later at one of the smallest, where she won. She was a finalist for the 2021 and 2023 IPG Marketing Award for the Sunday Times bestsellers Cain’s Jawbone and Vic Reeves’s Birds respectively. Rina believes great storytellers come from anywhere and everywhere.
Superpowers: Kamikaze optimism, serendipity manager, the ability to embrace negative capability.
Loves: Big talk not small talk, sitting in the dark watching people on a stage, espresso martinis, being stopped in my tracks.
Books that made me: A Confederacy of Dunces, Supermensch by Shep Gordon, Where the Wild Things Are and anything picaresque, but especially Vanity Fair.
ASSOCIATE tigers
MARK ECOB
Mark is a highly regarded book cover designer, illustrator and art director, known for his award-winning, creative and commercially effective designs. He’s worked with major publishing houses – including Hodder & Stoughton, Orion, Canongate, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Faber & Faber, Little Brown and others – as well as on self‑publishing projects. His design work has earned recognition from prestigious institutions like D&AD, the Academy of British Cover Design and the British Book Awards.
BURAK BAKAY
Burak is the founder and director of The Digital Agency, a Google Partner and Shopify Partner-certified digital marketing agency with offices in the UK, US and Turkey. The Digital Agency has a track record of delivering high growth in eCommerce, Facebook and Google advertising, search engine optimisation and website production. Through 16 years of experience, Burak has worked with 140 brands on 500 projects, including scaling up book sales with booksellers and publishing companies.