Hi Sheri, how are you doing today? Thanks so much for chatting to Stage to Page! Would you mind introducing yourself to our readers and telling us how you first got into the industry?

I hail from Toronto, Canada, and worked in the music industry in London for six years before heading to Edinburgh for what was supposed to be a gap year. It was there I  landed a job doing PR at T in the Park. I soon met Robin Hodge from The List and talked myself into a PR executive role in 2002. I’ve been there ever since. 

You're CEO of The List. Can you tell us more about your involvement in this integral guide that is so important to Edinburgh's cultural scene? 

When I started at The List, we were a fortnightly, paid-for publication with no website, so things have changed drastically over the decades. When Covid hit, this almost meant the end of The List as the CEO of the original company decided to wind the publishing side down and concentrate on information services. That’s when I sought investment to save The List and set it up as a new company in 2022. From then on, I’ve spearheaded rebuilding what we lost during Covid, including our Summer and Winter Festival Guides in Adelaide, a multi-issue partnership with The Scotsman, the launch of The List Festival Awards, and the return of our invaluable Eat & Drink 365 publications. 

The magazine is celebrating an incredible 40th anniversary this year! How do you come up with new ideas to keep the magazine thriving like it always has done? 

We have an incredibly talented team who have their ears to the ground all year round, and we’re always recruiting new writers to keep things fresh. For 40 years, we’ve been helping people ‘get a life’ by raising awareness of what's going on in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In a scene so vibrant, there’s no shortage of topics to cover. 

After a successful inaugural awards last year, The List Festival Awards are back for 2025! Can you tell us more about the importance of these awards and what the event will look like this year? 

We’re the only pan-festival awards ceremony in Edinburgh to offer financial recognition - something we believe is vital. Creating a show takes immense time, effort and passion, and we’re thrilled if we can support that in a small way. This year, we’re returning to the stunning Johnnie Walker Princes Street Label Studio on 22 August with hosts Michael Pederson and Gemma Cairney. We’ve also expanded the awards with new categories, bringing the total to 12 including new Fringe awards along with a new LGTBQIA+ award. 

My blog is called Stage to Page. But if you could turn any book, from page to stage, what would it be and why? 

It would have to be The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I was so consumed by this book and couldn’t put it down. I laughed, I cried and I loved everything about it. I’d love to see it brought to the stage. 

And finally, why should people reading this continue to follow the journey of The List? 

People should keep reading The List and supporting the amazing arts and culture scene we have in Scotland. The more people support us, the more we can support the scene. It’s an eco-system; if you don’t use it, you lose it.