Publisher of the Month

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a manuscript that I have had a hand in developing and publishing go on to earn that writer critical and commercial acclaim. It means I have done my job properly. Seeing that book connect with readers, win awards, and sell enough copies to make the author a living are the greatest pleasures of my work. The challenges occur when, despite the best efforts of author and publisher, these outcomes don’t eventuate.

I do think that concentrating on getting good stories from literate peoples may be a narrow way of looking at the world. Statements by some non-Indigenous publishers that they have ‘standards’ when it comes to First Nations writing are also extraordinarily limiting. Honestly, you mob seriously need to think outside the box and open up to different ways of thinking.

I completed a writing degree, then was published in Voiceworks magazine, then joined its editorial committee, there discovering that editing is a wonderfully creative and fulfilling act, then commissioned and published some folios of new work in other literary publications, then joined The Lifted Brow magazine as fiction editor, then ...

Having the opportunity to work with a diverse range of extremely talented writers and bring their books into the world is a gift. The greatest challenge isn’t with authors, but covering rent and surviving.

I am very proud of most of the books I have published. Some that stand out include Kate McClymont and Linton Besser’s He Who Must Be Obeid, which involved us all in a world of pain, but also instigated the case against Eddie Obeid. Working with Julia Gillard on My Story was rather special, and last year I published Rusted Off from Gabrielle Chan ...

I put an advertisement in the London Times newspaper in 1964 or thereabouts, which stated ‘Australian BA, typing, wants job in publishing’. I got three offers and accepted one, which was being a menial for a sponsored book editor at Hutchinson’s. But my real pathway was my mother and father, both great readers; I grew up surrounded by books.

The greatest pleasure is helping authors make their work the best version of itself. There is no greatest challenge, I am glad to say, although sometimes expectations need to be ‘managed’.

I am in publishing to make a positive difference to society, so when one feels that, with the author, we’re doing that, it’s gratifying. The greatest challenge is trying to explain why not all good books find the readership they deserve, despite marketing efforts and positive media and reviews. For some books, the time is not right.

My first job in publishing was a paid editorial internship with legal house CCH in the early 1990s. It taught me a lot: not least the importance of being meticulous (and earnest). However, the glitz and glamour of trade publishing caught my eye and I soon jumped ship, spending twelve or so years at HarperCollins, Hardie Grant, and Pan Macmillan before co-founding Brio in 2011.

What was your pathway to publishing? In 1971 I founded the weekly newspaper that became Nation Review. Soon afterwards my proprietor, Gordon Barton, acquired Angus & Robertson and offered me the job of running the publishing company. I jumped at the opportunity.