Meet The ALLi Team

Irish author and poet Orna Ross is co-founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and a passionate advocate for self-publishing and author empowerment.

An international bestseller, her books have won many awards, including the Goethe Grand Prize for Historical Fiction, a Gold Literary Titan Award for poetry, and her work for ALLi has seen her named one of the Top 100 people in publishing (The Bookseller).

She was born and raised in Wexford, in the south-east of Ireland, and now lives in St Leonard’s on Sea, in the south-east of England, within working reach of London. Her motto is: “When in doubt, be braver.” Find out more at AllianceIndependentAuthors.org

Before founding ALLi with Orna, Philip was a director at a large, corporate multinational. He left that work for a lifestyle of more freedom and independence. He brings 25 years of business management experience to ALLi and works on systems, strategy, and financial planning.

Although Philip doesn’t use social media, he loves receiving emails from members!

I’m delighted to be working for the democratisation of publishing through our not-for-profit community interest company, where technologies are empowering authors with new ways of working, and new routes to readers. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in this vibrant and mutually supportive community that’s so open to change.

Ross is ALLi’s Global Community Lead, dedicated to expanding the organisation’s offering for members and strengthening support for the wider indie author community.

Based in London, Ross has 15 years’ experience working with screenwriters, authors, and storytellers in the TV industry. He began his career as an agent’s assistant at the literary agency Knight Hall before moving into script editing on TV dramas for broadcaster and streamers in the US and UK including BBC, Sky, Netflix and Disney. In recent years, he worked as an in-house development executive and story producer, helping writers shape their work for the screen.

I love that ALLi is all about putting the power back in the hands of the author. Being part of not just a global community but also a movement that combines practical know-how with a spirit of creativity and independence is really inspiring.

Sarah provides business support services to small business owners worldwide. After leaving the UK, and her previous advertising agency world, to start a new life in France back in 2011, she used her wide-ranging skillset from a vast array of industries to set up Virtual Miss Begley offering support to hard-working business owners. Helping free up their time to strategise and grow their business.

When Sarah’s not supporting business owners or ALLi, she’s travelling the globe and working on a couple of her own side projects.

After discovering ALLi in 2015, I was amazed at the wealth of resources it provides to authors, which grows more and more each year. Not only did this encourage my own meagre writing endeavours, but it introduced me to Orna and Philip who are so incredibly passionate and dedicated to helping authors succeed that it’s impossible not to be swept up in, and want to be a part of, this wonderful alliance.

Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She writes educational nonfiction books for writers and sapphic books for Young Adults. Sacha joined ALLi in 2017, and became a member of the team in May 2019. She is our Content and Communications Strategist. She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and son.

I love ALLi because it makes a vast global industry feel connected by bringing authors and indie entrepreneurs from across the continents together. It’s an exciting team to be a part of because it’s grounded in forward thinking and more importantly, it educates its members to protect themselves and capitalise on their rights. ALLi is an inspiration to me and I’m proud to be a member.

Kayleigh is a virtual assistant specialising in customer support and social media. She started Admin Angels UK in 2013 with the aim of helping small business owners and authors achieve a better work-life balance. Kayleigh joined the ALLi team in 2018 as a social media administrator. She now works on ALLi comms and the annual Self-Publishing Advice Conference.

When she’s not working or spending time with her family, Kayleigh spends most of her time reading and reviewing books and working on her first novel.

I discovered ALLi when I first became interested in self-publishing. The sheer wealth of resources and advice is invaluable to any self-publishing author and I’m delighted to be able to give something back to ALLi and its members.

John Doppler has an insatiable hunger for technology. A seasoned software developer, John’s quarter-century career in the tech industry comprises a smorgasbord of pursuits, including graphic design, game development, internet forensics, and digital publishing. He relishes helping authors turn new opportunities into their bread and butter.

John serves up humor, news, and resources to writers at Words on Words, and has been rumored to write biographies during lunch.

ALLi represents the perfect fusion of knowledge, experience, and a supportive author community. Not one day goes by without useful information being shared among its members; not one day passes without my referring authors to the ALLi blog for answers. It’s an incomparable resource for both novice and expert authors.

Dan Holloway is a poet, novelist, journalist, editor and performer. Dan loves the writing and research process but comes into his own when given a microphone. He is the rabble rouser in chief of The New Libertines, who have been touring the UK’s festivals and fringes since 2011.

In 2010, he won the international spoken prose show Literary Death Match and competed at the 2016 UK National Poetry Slam Final at the Royal Albert Hall. He also runs the editing and copywriting business Rogue Interrobang, working with academics and non-fiction writers. When Dan’s not doing writing things he runs ultramarathons and appears on cheesy TV game shows.

It is a real honour to have been involved with ALLi since being a panellist at its launch. I love that ALLi is able to support self-publishers of all types, whatever their reason for taking control into their own hands. In a publishing world that struggles time and again to acknowledge and challenge its own homogeneity, ALLi stands for diversity and the fundamental principle that everyone deserves to be heard in their own voice.

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 30 science fiction & fantasy novels and author self-help books. To date, he has published over 1.5 million words of fiction and nonfiction.

Since publishing his first book in 2014, he has produced a prolific writing portfolio while raising a family and working a full-time job in the insurance industry.

When I started as an indie author, ALLi’s self-publishing advice was invaluable in helping me make smart decisions. It is now an honor to serve on the team so that I can pay it forward and make a difference by giving other indie authors useful advice and encouraging them to be the best authors they can be.

A journalist for more than thirty years, focusing primarily on science, technology, and innovation, Howard has always gravitated toward independent thinkers.

He took this sense of mission to Foreword Reviews, where he was executive editor, guiding coverage of independent publishing, with a particular focus on amplifying the voices of publishers and authors that represent marginalized communities.

Now, as an independent editor, podcast producer for ALLi and host of ALLi’s “Inspirational Indie Authors” podcast , Howard helps self-publishing authors find their voice.

Shanaya writes award-winning mystery books located in Scotland under the pen name Shana Frost. Born and raised in India, she recently completed her MLitt Creative Writing in Scotland and is now mining the country for new story ideas. Shanaya joined the ALLi team in 2022 as a volunteer intern and has since moved into the Publications Manager role. She works on ALLi’s guidebooks and the Self-Publishing Advice blog.

When I took up self-publishing in 2020, I was studying to be an accountant—I knew nothing about the publishing industry or writing! ALLi’s blogs, podcasts and partner service directories helped me navigate my way from overwhelm to relative calm. As ALLi’s Publications Manager, I am blessed to be working with a talented and helpful team of indie authors, and can give back to the indie community, who’ve always cheered me on.

Roz Morris is a novelist, memoirist, journalist, book and magazine editor and writing coach. She has decades of experience in both trade and self-publishing.

As a ghostwriter she’s been edited by major publishing houses. As an editor she’s run the editorial department of an imprint and trained staff in all the editorial trades, in magazines and newspapers as well as in books. As an author she’s self-published writing craft books that have earned her prestigious teaching work at The Guardian masterclasses, Writers & Artists and Jane Friedman’s online academy. Her self-published memoir secured a tour of BBC local radio stations and her literary fiction has reached the finals of mainstream awards including the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize and the World Fantasy Award.

As a writing coach she has evaluated manuscripts for a top London literary consultancy and developmentally edited novels that won major prizes. She’s a story consultant for a thriller publisher in Dublin and a regular panelist on the Litopia YouTube show Pop-Up Submissions with literary agent Peter Cox.

I feel so lucky to be writing and publishing in this era of unprecedented opportunity for authors. I love the control of self-publishing; the chance to make my art in the way I want to, to find the readers that resonates for and to build a career from my love of the craft. ALLi is steering us all through these exciting times and I’m fiercely proud to be working with them.

Melissa Addey writes richly researched historical fiction inspired by what she calls “the footnotes of history” – forgotten stories and intriguing lives from the past. Her novels span Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco, 18th-century China, and Regency England. She has a PhD in Creative Writing, was Writer in Residence at the British Library, and lives in London with her family.

Helping indie authors be seen and respected in the publishing world is very important to me. I love it when new opportunities open up for authors, and ALLi has a real track record in supporting indie authors around the globe to be their best and achieve recognition for their creative work.