Marianna has joined the Alakat Publishing team and will be working alongside editor Rachael Simpson-Jones.

Marianna Casal graduated from City, University of London in 2022 with a first class honours degree in journalism. Since then, she has been honing her journalistic skills by working as a news reporter for the Henley Standard. Her responsibilities there included covering South Oxfordshire’s villages and towns, reporting on everything from court cases, inquests, Henley Royal Regatta and the Henley Festival, to current affairs and features on local celebrities, Olympians and Ukrainian refugees.

Marianna says she is delighted to join the toy trade and the licensing industry, and is excited to get to know everyone.

Commenting on her new role, she added: “I am looking forward to bringing my skills to Toy World and Licensing.biz, and learning the ways of this new world. I can’t wait for my first trade show and to just get stuck in with this great team.”

Publisher John Baulch said: “We are very pleased to welcome Marianna to the team. Her writing skills and experience are sure to be huge assets to the company, and we are sure she will fit in well with the team. We look forward to introducing her to the toy industry and the world of licensing.”

Marianna can be contacted on email at marianna@toyworldmag.co.uk. We also look forward to introducing her to everyone at the Toymaster May Show.

The Licensing.biz team can be contacted on the usual numbers: 01442 502406 for editorial and 01442 502405 for sales/ads.