Catherine Riley

Catherine Riley (she/her)

Catherine has deep experience of managing high-level communications strategy for a range of organisations across the third sector, and of designing and implementing impactful campaigns. She most recently worked for the Royal Society of Literature, including as deputy director, where she coalesced stakeholders including RSL Fellows, members, partner organisations and the book-buying public around a shared understanding of the value of literature for all. She previously worked as Director of the Primadonna Festival and Prize CIO where she took an original vision – to create ‘the world as it should be’ for one weekend – and transformed it into an annual festival and prize with associated satellite events and an outreach programme connecting with schools, arts organisations and community groups. 

Catherine’s previous experience includes heading up communications for Spirit of 2012, a London 2012 legacy charity, and for the Women's Equality Party, where she supported candidates in the 2016 London Mayoral election, the 2017 Liverpool Metro Mayoral election and the 2017 general election. 

Prior to this, Catherine worked as a lecturer and tutor in the UK HE sector, building on the research she began when writing her doctoral thesis on the feminist publisher Virago. She has published two non-fiction books on feminism and women's writing, and has contributed chapters and articles to edited collections on these themes. She also recently published her first novel, Is This Love?, which was long-listed for the 2023 Polari First Book prize.