Lil Chase is a Senior Editor at Hachette Children's Group, working for their Series & Brands team. There she creates and edits fiction for children of all ages, from early chapter books to YA. Lil has had a varied experience in the publishing industry: she worked at ‘romance HQ’ a.k.a Harlequin Mills & Boon. She's currently a regular freelancer for a new online publisher - Dawn Hill Publications - editing their adult romance novels.

For twelve years she was a Senior Commissioning Editor at Working Partners Ltd, the creative company behind massive commercial successes such as the Rainbow Magic, Beast Quest and Warrior Cats series. More recently, she worked as an editor for the Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency, where she gained experience in editing picture books. Lil is also an author in her own right; she has written six books as sole author, and many more as a writer-for-hire. She is a Cornerstones industry editor.

Interests: commercial fiction of all kinds – from picture books to adult. Special interest: humour and heart.

Monica has over twenty years’ experience as an editor in the publishing industry, with a number of titles topping the Sunday Times Bestseller List. She has an MA in English Literature from Cambridge University and a post-graduate year learning print production at UAL.

She worked as an Editorial Director at HarperCollins Publishers, where she commissioned and edited her own list, transforming manuscripts and original ideas into successful, desirable books for a competitive market. She also has previous experience working for Picador, Profile Books, Faber Academy, and Dorling Kindersley. She has been an Industry editor at Cornerstones for many years, and now heads the scouting programme. Monica is an in-house editor.

Interests: Non-fiction, contemporary and historical literary fiction, women's commercial fiction, older children’s books

Daniel has written over 25 books, and has been published by Penguin, Hamish Hamilton, Allison and Busby, BBC Books, Chicken House, Scholastic USA and Badger Learning. He is represented by a leading UK literary agent and is published in over 10 countries. He has written three of the BBC’s original Doctor Who novels as well as his own work for adults, children and teenagers. Daniel has also taught on the Creative Writing MA at Sheffield Hallam University, is a regular judge at the Off The Shelf Festival’s “Novel Slam”, and has led writing days and workshops in over 400 primary and secondary schools. He is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: Adult fiction, YA and children's books, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, time-travel, timeshift, literary fiction, crime and thrillers, books for reluctant readers

Vicky is a freelance development editor working for publishers (including Oneworld, Little, Brown, Bookouture, Legend Press and RedDoor Press), agents and authors across a range of genres including literary fiction and narrative non-fiction, crime and psychological thrillers, women’s commercial fiction, historical sagas and series. She has worked in publishing for over thirteen years, and was Senior Fiction Editor at Myriad Editions for seven years, launching the careers of award-winning debut authors who went on to become New York Times and Amazon bestsellers. She has a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Sussex and read for literary scout Sylvie Zannier-Betts before working in-house in rights and then becoming a commissioning editor. She won the Independent Publishers’ Guild Young Independent Publisher of the Year Award in 2013. She also teaches creative writing at workshops for universities and mentors writers through the publishing process from planning to completing a novel and publishing strategy. Her training as a commissioning editor means she is quick to spot potential and she enjoys working with an author to develop that promise, ensuring every book is as strong as it can be and has the best possible chance of success in a competitive market. Vicky is a Cornerstones industry editor.

Interests: Contemporary and historical literary fiction, women's commercial fiction, psychological thrillers, memoir, literary non-fiction and short stories.

Gina has authored seven YA novels. Her most recent books are YA-crossover thrillers, Love You to Death (2023, Scholastic) and You Can Trust Me (2022, Scholastic), and a duo of teen fairy tale retellings, All the Better to See You (2021, Scholastic) and Good Enough to Eat (2022, Scholastic). She has also authored three earlier crime-thrillers with Pan Macmillan (Pretty Twisted, 2011, an e-book bestseller, Forget Me Never, 2012, winner of the Oldham Book Award, and Saving Silence, 2013, winner of the Warwickshire Book Award and nominated for the Carnegie Medal). She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and has spoken at literary festivals, in schools and at library events.

In addition to editing work, Gina is also an Associate Lecturer on the MA in Creative Writing for Young People course at Bath Spa University. Outside of publishing she has worked in the education sector, offering advice and guidance to young people considering university and various career pathways. Gina is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: YA, MG, crime, thrillers, historical, horror, romance, all commercial fiction

Alex is the author of several picture books including Monkey Bedtime (Faber, 2022), Stop that Dinosaur (Bloomsbury, 2021) and a middle-grade series Sky Pirates (Simon & Schuster). Her books have been shortlisted for the Dundee Picture Book Award, chosen by BookTrust for their Bookstart Corner programme and selected by The Reading Agency for the Summer Reading Challenge. Alex has an MA in Writing for Young People and is experienced in mentoring authors and running creative writing workshops. She is a Cornerstones core editor.

Interests: All YA and MG genres; picture books

Becca is a freelance editor who has worked in publishing since 2009. She began at independent publisher Constable & Robinson where she worked on a range of adult fiction and YA, then joined Hachette Children’s Group to work on children’s fiction (age 5+ to YA). She currently works with a range of publishers, literary agents and charities, and is passionate about getting brilliant stories into the hands of readers. Becca is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: Middle-grade and YA fiction, especially historical, fantasy, mystery, literary, diverse voices and anything quirky or unique. Adult fiction including cosy crime, historical, commercial women’s and literary fiction.