Jake Hawkes

Writing

Across ten years of journalism, Jake has written cover features, profiles, live reviews and more, as well as being contributing editor of Dork. Along the way, he’s been commissioned to interview arena-level bands, review festivals in places as remote as The Faroe Islands, discuss his love of Fallout: New Vegas, and review Michelin starred restaurants.

Radio and Podcasts

Jake is an experienced radio and podcast host, co-creating and co-hosting Down With Boring, Dork’s flagship podcast / radio show, since 2020. Down With Boring has featured shows on location from events including Reading Festival, The Great Escape festival and Iceland Airwaves. Previous guests have included Madison Beer, Fontaines D.C., CMAT, and the President of Iceland.
Down With Boring partnered with SON Estrella Galicia to create a branded edition of the show for their micro-festival in March 2024. As part of the Down With Boring brand, Jake has also DJed at Rockaway Beach festival and London’s 100 Club.

Speaking

Jake has hosted Q + A sessions with artists at festivals including Reading, Truck, Live at Leeds and Rockaway Beach, compered a show at London’s Moth Club (complete with a raffle), hosted a zoom-based album launch party, and given multiple talks as part of his PhD research at conferences within the UK and abroad. Alongside this he has participated in industry panels at festivals including Rockaway Beach.

Museums, Heritage and Academia

Jake is nearing the completion of a PhD at Central Saint Martins, UAL and has presented his academic research at conferences across the UK and abroad, including the 2025 British Popular Culture(s) Conference in Falmouth, the 2025 ‘Ordinary Lives, Everyday People?’ Conference at UEA and KISMIF 2024 in Porto. He is the author of the article “Happy days? London rockabilly and post-punk nostalgia, 1978–84”, published in academic journal Punk & Post-Punk.

Jake has also volunteered extensively within the heritage sector, auditing and helping to clean and care for the collections at Luton Culture Trust, auditing and assisting in the archives at Headstone Manor museum and working with the Higgins museum to transcribe their oral history interviews. He is currently conducting a research project in collaboration with the Design Museum’s Blitz exhibition.

PR and Comms

Jake has worked in-house as part of the comms team for multiple universities and museums, including UCL, The University of Greenwich, The Natural History Museum, and the London Museum. He is a skilled communicator and has led major campaigns, securing coverage across national and international media. He was PR lead for the London Museum’s re-location to West Smithfield, as well as leading on numerous science papers while at UCL and The Natural History Museum.