Who we are
Emily Rhodes
Founding Director
Emily founded Bookbanks in 2022. She leads the charity’s strategic development, expansion and partnerships from a London base. A writer and journalist, with a background in bookselling, Emily is passionate about building communities around books and also runs Emily’s Walking Book Club, a 3,000-strong community which meets for monthly book walks on Hampstead Heath.
Hattie Garlick
Director
Hattie manages Bookbanks’ press, volunteers and is the charity’s designated Safeguarding Lead. She lives in Norfolk and is building the charity’s presence locally. She is also a journalist and author, writing about health, families and the arts across the national press.
Our Ambassadors
Andrew O’Hagan
Andrew was born in Glasgow. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize, was voted one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in 2003, and won the E. M. Forster Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is Editor-at-Large of the London Review of Books and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day is an award-winning author and broadcaster. She has written nine fiction and non-fiction books. She is the creator and host of the chart-topping How To Fail podcast and the founder of Daylight Productions, elevating female and diverse voices in podcasting. As a journalist for many years, she wrote for multiple publications and has presented Radio 4's Open Book and the Sky Arts Book Club, judged the Women's Prize for Fiction, chaired the BBC National Short Story Award and is currently chair of the Sky Arts Prize for Literature 2024.
Bookbanks Board
Pete MacIntyre
Acting Chair
Pete is a lawyer in the technology sector. He has a keen interest in books, community and the outdoors.
Asma Mani
Lead Safeguarding Trustee
Asma is a child and adolescent psychotherapist. She started her career as an English teacher in an inner London comprehensive and then spent 8 years as a civil servant in central government. She is an avid reader and believes in the power of books to support the mental health of individuals and communities.
Annabelle Williams
Annabelle spent many years working for Age UK Camden. She is passionate about books, whether that is reading to her children, sharing recommendations with friends or overseeing Age Uk Camden‘s book club for older people.
Claire Davies
Treasurer
Claire is a Chartered Management Accountant, and the business manager for a London State primary school, where she sees the positive impact of books on a daily basis. She is also a keen reader.
Bookbanks champions
Bookbanks is supported and informed by a community of our service users. These champions meet regularly in trustee-led focus groups to feed back on the charity’s performance. They tell us what we are doing right, how we can improve and develop, and what the people who use our services need from us. Their input is vitally important in shaping the decisions made and direction set by our Board.