Jade Slaughter

Jade Slaughter studied on both our BA English Literature and MA Creative Writing, and is now Creative Content Manager for Scouts, the UK’s largest co-educational youth movement. Leading a team of content producers specialising in writing and design, they collaborate with studios and freelancers to produce digital, print, social and film content for the charity.  

What one thing inspired you to do what you do now?

Career-wise, it was probably the summer of 2015, when there were a large number of protests in London. I was working in publishing at the time but had joined a feminist activist group and we were constantly active, attending up to four demonstrations in a day. Creating social media content for the group, writing press releases and coming up with campaigns ­– and seeing the amazing content coming from other movements – was really invigorating and made me realise I could use my skills to make a difference.

More specifically, my content speciality is writing (I did my Creative Writing MA with ARU), and the piece of writing that’s inspired me most is probably the opening page of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. It captures a moment perfectly – you really feel the whoosh of the French windows bursting open and the possibility in the air – and I love the free-flowing stream-of-consciousness style.

What’s the most valuable thing you took away from your time at ARU?

I had an incredible mentor for my MA in Dr Colette Paul. Her belief in my work gave me enough confidence to call myself a writer, which (as most writers know) is often the hardest bit.

Aside from that, I did a short course on editing as an MA ‘add-on’. It basically taught me all the rules of grammar and punctuation, as well as good editing etiquette, and it gave me a really useful foundation to build upon.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

I did my undergrad in English Literature (also at ARU) and made the mistake of thinking that left me with two career options: publishing or teaching. I’d have reminded younger Jade that she hates public speaking – which rules out teaching – and that you don’t actually get to write anything in publishing, so it was worth having another think.

Then to save time, I’d probably just tell her to google communications, copywriting and content creation.

What are you working on now?

I’m actually working on a really exciting project at the moment – we’re launching a new age group for Scouts (4–5 year olds); the first since 1986. I’m lucky enough to be collaborating with an as-yet-unannounced agency on creating a brand for the age group, and can’t wait to see how it comes out.