Square Works Achievements
How much can one person do in a day? Productivity is of course subjective, but there are some individuals who just seem to excel in their achievements, whilst working full-time and often juggling family responsibilities. Much like a gold star rewarded good behaviour at primary school, it is my belief that we should always shout about the good that people are putting into the world.
Square Works, the award-winning co-working space within The Square Club, has an impressively high number of accomplished members. We’d like to spotlight and celebrate just a few of the incredible recent achievements in our community.
Jim Roberts and Mark Horton
What happens when two creatives meet at an event at The Square? The possibilities are limitless, and Jim Roberts and Mark Horton are here to prove it.
Jim is an Adventure Travel Content Manager and Writer at Swoop Patagonia. Jim recently saw the culmination of a six year side project by releasing his first novel into the wild—a dystopian fantasy tale—The Monkey State.
Mark is a Brand Strategist, Generative AI Consultant and business owner. After meeting at a talk on AI at Square Works (hosted by Mark), the two collaborated on the vitally important book cover. Mark used his extensive design experience and expertise to produce an eye-catching print cover, bringing Jim’s passion project to life. In Jim’s own words…“I know they say you can’t judge a book by its cover… but I hope with Mark’s they do!”
Fans of 1984 or The Planet Of The Apes may want to check it out. The Monkey State is available to buy here. They have now begun work on the cover for the more utopian second book in the trilogy.
Georgia Mizen
If you are a regular reader of Squarely, you may already be familiar with Georgia Mizen from our previous issue. As the Founder and Director of her own freelance marketing network, Fable & Verse, she is an exceptionally busy woman; naturally, she still found time to take on the Barcelona Half Marathon.
Georgia undertook six months of tough training to support The Forest of Dean Children’s Opportunity Centre. Despite not considering herself a runner, she achieved a personal best in the first 10km and finished in 2:05 on race day. Her goal was to raise £1,000 for the charity, which provides vital support for children with additional needs and their families. Having hit her target, Georgia is still welcoming donations to make an even bigger impact.
You can donate here.
Dr Julie Blake and Dr Tim Shortis
In the 2025 New Year’s Honours List, resident members Dr Julie Blake and Dr Tim Shortis were awarded MBEs in recognition of their services to Education for their work as Directors of Poetry By Heart.
Poetry By Heart is a national competition encouraging young people to choose a poem they love, learn it by heart, and perform it out loud. Since the competition’s founding in 2013, thousands of schools across the country have taken part.
On receiving the accolade, Julie said, “We are proud to be recipients of this honour and accept it on behalf of all the pupils, teachers, school librarians, poets, partners and our incredible team who make Poetry By Heart such a joyful and rewarding celebration of poetry.”
Tim also described what makes the competition so special. “Poetry By Heart is about daring to do it differently. Poetry is part of everyone’s DNA and everyone can enjoy it. Receiving this award, my mind is full of all the wonderful recitations we have heard by children, young people and teachers at every level of the competition.”
We have a more in depth interview with Julie here, so please do have a read. Visit Poetry By Heart’s website here.
If you know of any other members who deserve to be recognised for their achievements in the Square community, please do reach out to us at editorial@thesquareclub.com.
