How do you fancy being the next J K Rowling?

XpoNorth has released an extensive series of Digital Shorts – a collection of informative and inspiring free video interviews from leaders in the world of music, screen, fashion, heritage and literature.
By John A. MacInnes
Published 17th Nov 2020, 21:02 BST
Barrie Kelly from NBC Universal.Barrie Kelly from NBC Universal.
Barrie Kelly from NBC Universal.

They hope to make it as easy as possible for those in the Highlands and Islands creative economy to access specialist sector support during the pandemic and beyond.

Hosted by Author and Screenwriter and XpoNorth’s Screen Specialist, Jessica Fox, each of the 34 episodes screened over 27 weeks have proved invaluable to almost 2,000 active members of the Highlands and Islands creative economy.

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Throughout the seven-month series, Fox interviewed experts around the globe.

These include Barrie Kelly from NBCUniversal, film producer, Diana Philips and former Cressida and Uriah Heep drummer Iain Clark who have all provided valuable insights for those looking to break in to the creative sectors, as well more practical advice on surviving the pandemic.

The latter subject covers funding, furlough and employment law.

The Digital Shorts are accompanied by engaging pieces of content hosted on the XpoNorth website which is regularly updated by the XpoNorth sector specialists.

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The most popular episodes from the series include ‘How to be the next JK Rowling’ featuring Scottish literary agent, Jenny Brown, ‘Circle The Arctic from Film To Culture’ with producer Vilborg Einarsdottir and ‘Set Ashore on the Land of TV Production’ featuring producers Tony Wood and Richard Tulk-Hart of Buccaneer Media and, due to the success of the series, a new programme of Digital Shorts is already being produced.

Talking about the success of the series Iain Hamilton, Head of Creative Industries at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and co-founder of XpoNorth, said: “The Digital Shorts series was a direct response to the Covid- 19 pandemic and was part of XpoNorth’s strategy to quickly host a high volume of high quality content online to ensure as many creative businesses as possible had access to useful advice from home when they needed it most.

“I’m delighted to see how well the series has been received and wish to extend my thanks to Jessica and the very many experts across the sector who gave their valuable time to the project.”

The final episode of the series, featuring Charlotte Wright, Chief Executive of HIE, who discusses what the future looks like for the Highlands and Islands during and after Covid is now available to view, along with all other 33 episodes at XNTV: https://xponorth.co.uk/xntv

Related topics:JK Rowling