Publishing Q+A panelists at the Independent Publishing Conference

At the Small Press Network’s Independent Publishing Conference today, our afternoon Publishing Q+A panel gives you the chance to put questions to a range of book industry professionals.

Here is our panel:

Angela Namoi has worked at Allen & Unwin for 33 years and is currently the rights and international sales director for A&U’s children’s and young adult list. She has been a regular visitor at all the major book fairs over many years, as well as visiting New York, Chicago, London, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong regularly. In 2014 Angela was awarded the Pixie O’Harris Award and in 2016 the George Robertson Award for services to Australian literature. Earlier this year she was granted four-year funding for an Australian collective stand at Bologna.

Zoe Dattner is the publisher of SmartCompany, Australia’s premier publication for small business, startups and entrepreneurs. Prior to that Zoe was the co-founder and creative director of small literary publishing house Sleepers, lectured in digital publishing at Melbourne University, and was the General Manager of the Small Press Network between 2008 and 2013.

Michael Gordon-Smith is the CEO of the Australian Publishers Association. He has worked for more than 20 years in Australian media and communications industries, including as a director, a government regulator and the CEO of industry associations. Michael has led projects or policies from media ownership to mobile telephones, from copyright to digital television. He established the Centre for Screen Business at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and chaired the Australian Broadcasting Authority’s inquiry into Cash for Comment. He has been the CEO of the Australian Publishers Association since 2013. He would like to be a faster ocean swimmer and a better player of Go.

Tracy O’Shaughnessy is a trade book publisher with over twenty years’ experience. Throughout her diverse career she has worked at a number of Australia’s leading publishing houses, including Hardie Grant Books, Melbourne University Press as the Miegunyah Publisher, and Allen & Unwin. She is currently Program Director of the RMIT’s Master of Writing and Publishing and publisher of the student-led Bowen Street Press.

Tom Hoskins is the store manager and buyer for Readings at the State Library and the Readings Melbourne Writers Festival shop. Tom has been with Readings since 2003 after an ill-advised yet thankfully brief stint with Borders.

Karen Le Roy works in the international projects team at the Australia Council and manages the Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program and outbound delegations of Australian publishers and agents. She previously managed the grant categories for individual writers, literary magazines, literary festivals, and translations.

Chair

Alex Adsett is a publishing consultant and literary agent who offers commercial contract advice to authors and publishers. She serves on various boards around Australia and talks regularly on copyright and contracts. She will be our Tony Jones for the afternoon.