Writers off the Page

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.Today I chat to Erica Wagner and Craig Smith. Erica Wagner is a painter and collage artist, book publisher and creative consultant to storytellers. Her early career saw her work as an editor and later Associate Publisher at Penguin Books Australia, before establishing Silverfish, a new children's list, for Duffy & Snellgrove. She later moved across to become children's publisher at Allen & Unwin, where she stayed from 2000-2020. In amongst that, she was a big instigator of graphic novels, co-founding the graphic novel micro-press Twelve Panels Press.Craig Smith has illustrated more than 400 books for children over 40 plus years, working with many of Australia's most experienced writers and editors. He’s seen the changes in technology, and embraced various means along the way – although as you’ll hear, nothing beats that initial start on paper.

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.Today I chat to bookseller extraordinaire Barbara Horgan. In 1986, Barbara Horgan and her late husband Tony became the owners of Shearer’s Bookshop in Sydney. They established a big name for themselves in the industry, awarded Bookseller of the Year four times, and made life members of the Australian Bookseller Association. For the past eight years, Barbara has run multiple book clubs at Beaufort Street Books.

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.Today I chat to Anna McFarlane. Anna has worked for several publishing houses during her thirty plus year career, and is currently at Allen & Unwin where she publishes books for children and young adults, including early readers like the CBCA award-winning My Friend Fred by Frances Watts and Anne Yi, middle grade fiction such as A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter and Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee, and a number of bestselling and award-winning young adult fiction. 

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.Today I chat to Susannah McFarlane. Susannah is the award-winning author, creator and publisher of over 80 books and some of Australia’s most successful children’s book series including Zac Power, Go Girls, EJ12 Girl Hero, EJ Spy School, Boy vs Beast, D-Bot Squad, Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls, Brave Tales for Bold-Hearted Boys, and Grumble Boats . With over one million books sold in Australia alone, Susannah understands children and writes stories they love and that parents trust. Susannah held a number of marketing positions with Australian publishers before becoming licensing director, then publishing director and then managing director of Egmont Books UK. She returned to Australia when her kids thought Hyde Park was nature and co-founded Hardie Grant Egmont. She now works part time as Head of Publishing for Bible Society Australia and spends the rest of her time writing or avoiding writing. 

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.Today I chat to Kristin Gill. Kristin has worked across all sectors of children’s publishing for more than 30 years. She’s held roles in sales and marketing and was a Publishing Manager at Penguin Random House Australia until 2021.Kristin is now co-owner of Northern Books, where she works as a publishing consultant and manager of literary events for writers, readers and schools across Victoria.  She’s also the Ambassador Manager for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation – an organisation she has been actively involved in since it was founded in 2012.

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.In this episode I speak to Brian Cook. Brian has worked in all facets of general publishing since 1969 from sales and marketing to editorial and distribution. He was among the first to start doing manuscript appraisals, and is most recently known for his literary agency, The Authors Agent, which he only stepped away from in 2022.Today he shares his wise words, from his experiences over the past fifty years. 

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.When it comes to books, Dyan Blacklock has worn multiple hats. She was a publisher with Omnibus, an imprint of Scholastic, for almost 20 years, she’s also an author and has worked as an editor and currently, an agent. 

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been in and around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.In this episode, I chat to Laura Harris. Laura has been part of the publishing industry for more than 35 years and is a recipient of the George Robertson Award for distinguished long service to the Australian Publishing industry. Laura was a senior editor and publisher at Harper Collins, before moving across to Penguin Books where she was a publisher and then publishing director. She was later appointed publishing director for Penguin Random House, where she worked until 2023.Laura has shaped many books over the years, including works by Mem Fox, Aaron Blabey, Morris Gleitzman, Felice Arena, Melina Marchetta and Sonya Hartnett.She now runs Laura Harris Publishing.

Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.In this episode, I chat to Margrete Lamond. Margrete’s  been a full-time publisher for more than twenty years, and an editor and a published author for a whole lot longer. She’s worked with publishing giant Scholastic, for the small independent Little Hare Books, and with acclaimed independent Hardie Grant, as well as founding critically acclaimed Dirt Lane Press and, more recently, Gilded Snail. She’s also the author of around 25 books for young readers – so yeah, with all those things in mind, you could say she knows a thing or two.

Introducing you to Writers off the Page's new mini-series: Wise Words. Inspiring, unfiltered and fun conversations with those who've been around the publishing industry for many years ... and in some cases, come out the other side. Hear their wise words, their frustrations and the things they think you should understand about an industry that's often quite mysterious.In this episode, I chat to Simon & Schuster's Head of Children's publishing Tash Besliev, whose brilliant mind helped get this mini-series off the ground.