Rukhsana Yasmin talks about winning the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2012

Rukhsana Yasmin won this year's Kim Scott Walwyn Prize and was kind enough to take some time away from her new editor role at The Westbourne Press to tell us about winning, and about the publishing industry.

On winning

It feels amazing to win the prize. I won a tin of biscuits once in a raffle so this is definitely a step up. In all seriousness though, it is a great boost at this stage of my career and affirms my efforts. I thought I might do the commissioning editing course, or how to run your own business… I have two boys and the first conversation we had about winning involved them negotiating a cut of my winnings (I gave in). I have also given half to a prison school in Pakistan, a subject close to my heart. The rest (not much left) went on a silk blouse and will also go towards a long anticipated holiday.

On starting through a DIPNET mentoring scheme

It helped me in that it helped fund my work experience. It was a fantastic scheme run really well at Saqi Books where I learnt a huge amount. I definitely favour work experience in smaller companies because it's much more hands on. My first task was going through copyedit corrections in a 400-page book on Croatian History. If that scheme hadn't been available I doubt I would have entered publishing - it felt a world away from my life and my environment and I always assumed I couldn't enter it. I think the landscape for diversity is shifting, but still very wanting. The lack of diversity is two-way though and goes back to what I've said above - it feels, on the outside, an impenetrable and unrealistic career choice for lots of people like me (not just race but class, more importantly) so we simply don't even try. I have never had a negative experience, but racism is much more nuanced these days. For me though, publishing is as exciting and rewarding now as it was when I joined. I love being surrounded by books and talking, living, breathing them all the time.

On applying for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize

Actually, it was something my ex-boss said to me when I was leaving Profile to join Saqi as commissioning editor. Andrew Franklin gave me some great advice about being more outward-looking and raising my profile. So I submitted my application and didn't think about it again. I had no expectations at all, but I felt good about having followed Andrew's advice in doing something positive and concrete about it.

On being an editor

As an editor, I think what's most exciting is seeing an idea come together. That's always the greatest feeling. Or if you are acquiring (rather than starting with an idea and developing it from scratch) it's such a thrill to see the book through to publication  - to enthuse readers - first from within your own team and then on to the wider reading public.

On reading

I don't agree that people are reading less - we are just reading fewer books. This is bad for publishing but not the doom and gloom story predicted by most. How can we get people to read more books? Isn't that an age old question? And isn't that our job as publishers?

On the future

Honestly, I just want to be doing what I'm doing now, publishing amazing and interesting stories, working with the best team and doing what I love doing most (after spending time with my children).