Sir Michael Lyons to join Board of Tindal Street Press
Friday, 12th March 2010
Sir Michael Lyons has been invited to Chair the board of directors of Birmingham’s prize-winning independent publisher.
The Chairman of the BBC Trust has agreed to accept the challenge of taking Tindal Street Press into an even more successful second decade.
‘I am pleased to be joining Alan Mahar and the talented board of Tindal Street Press. This is a small gem in the arts landscape of Birmingham with an enviable track record for bringing forward new literary voices and securing national recognition for them.’
The publicly-funded publisher, part-supported by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council, is overseen by a voluntary board, which Sir Michael will chair at the next meeting on April 26th.
Publishing Director, Alan Mahar commented: ‘This appointment is indicative of the Board’s ambition for the future. Tindal Street Press has achieved a great deal in the last ten years, with prize-listings for all the major literary prizes. Sir Michael’s experience and drive will help take our operations another major step forward on the national stage. His appointment coincides with an exciting time for our enterprise, when we have just had our second Costa First Novel Award winner in the space of three years. It will be a great boost to have such a strong and media-savvy national voice as Sir Michael’s to support the dynamic Birmingham-based team.’
Sir Michael’s connections with Birmingham and the West Midlands have been strong over many years. Having served as Chief Executive for the councils of Wolverhampton, Nottinghamshire and Birmingham, he was knighted in 2000 for services to local government and became Professor of Public Policy at Birmingham University, until 2006. He lives in Sutton Coldfield, in the north of Birmingham.
Sir Michael is currently Chairman of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC. He is a non-executive director at Wragge & Co and a governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His previous offices include Chair of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and directorships with City Pride, Millennium Point and Birmingham Marketing Partnership.
