Tales Post – Inside Stripes – Hayley Castle

by Chelley Toy · January 29, 2016

As part of my prize for winning the UKYABA for Champion Newcomer in March 2015 I was offered exclusivity on all Stripes titles and content as well as a wonderful book voucher and of course a beautiful award!

I thought to coincide with this it would be nice to gain an insight into the team at Stripes and get to know them and their department a little better.

To do this I tasked the lovely people at Stripes with a gruelling questionnaire…..okay maybe it wasn’t gruelling and kind of fun …. *evil laugh*

And Inside Stripes was born….

Over the course of the month Inside Stripes will aim to give people a look into the Stripes world, the team, their departments and more.

Here’s a little sneak peak at the Stripes Publishing office!

Who are you?

My name is Hayley Castle and I’m the head of marketing and pr for Stripes and the Little Tiger Group of imprints.

This is me with my youngest daughter Rita.

Which department do you work in?

Sales and Marketing

What is the departments function at Stripes?

Sales and marketing is responsible for getting our books out in the market place, bookshops, in the press and in consumer’s hearts and minds.

What is your job title?

Head of PR and Marketing

Tell us a little about what you do or things you work on in your department.

I work on promotions, publicity and advertising. We are responsible for spreading the word about all the great books that Stripes publish. Whether we are trying to convince a baking-mad teen that their next must-read is Love, Lies and Lemon Pies or trying to engage a worm-loving 6 year old boy through the disgusting antics of dear Dirty Bertie, no two days are the same.

What are you currently working on whilst you are answering this questionnaire…if you are allowed to share?

I’m currently planning out our 2016 promotions schedule and getting excited about all the wonderful new books we’ve got publishing. If I said any more, I would have to kill you.

What is the favourite part of your job?

I love it all, can you believe it? I’ve only ever worked on marketing for things I love, believe in and think are important and this makes doing my job very easy indeed. When I was much (much) younger, my mum told me to find something I love and make that my career and that’s definitely what I’ve managed to do so far.

Now it’s time for…..Quick-Fire Questions!

Describe yourself in 3 words

Tenacious. Kind. Ruthless.

Favourite book?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What’s your favourite place on earth?

Aside from my bed which I have an intermittent relationship with thanks to 2 kids under 5, probably anywhere on the Dorset coast.

What’s your favourite food?

My other half’s cooking. Food always tastes better if you haven’t had to put in the legwork.

Favourite word?

Yes!

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

My children. Despite how it might sometimes appear.

If you could time warp yourself to any point in history when would it be, who would you hang out with?

Can I go back to a film? I’d like to hang out with Myrna Loy and William Powell (and Asta the dog), in any of The Thin Man films. Nick and Nora know it’s never too early to have a cocktail. It’s a good rule to live by.

If you had a super power what would it be?

Teleportation. This would save me from a lot of long car journeys with two bored small people.

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?

Too many bad hair cuts and 80s perms to list here.