Changes at Books+Publishing

Owner and publisher of Books+Publishing Gary Pengelly writes: 

‘Like everyone in the industry at this time, Books+Publishing continues to look for ways to contribute to the Australian bookselling and publishing community during the Covid-19 crisis, while ensuring we remain in a strong position to continue doing so when the new normal emerges. We continue to promote your books and businesses, and if there is anything we can do to assist your business during this difficult time, please do not hesitate to ask.

‘Seeing the lengths that our industry colleagues and friends have gone to to remain connected with their customers and partners is nothing short of inspirational. Tough calls are being made by everyone to ensure the industry comes back bigger and better. These decisions have a direct impact on people’s lives, and we must continue to look after each other as we prepare for whatever the new normal looks like.

‘At Books+Publishing we are committed to ensuring the continuity of news, book reviews, and the promotional activity we undertake. To best support this, we have had to make the tough decision to pause our Think Australian rights publication and to put on hold our centenary plans.

‘We have also decided to delay production of the first print magazine for 2020; this will be reviewed as we approach mid-year to see what the Christmas selling season might look like.

‘All of these decisions have been taken to ensure the continuity of the news and reviews that are now more critical than ever. Our advertising sales manager Fi Tunnicliff will continue to co-ordinate a variety of advertising campaigns to promote your titles and authors to booksellers and readers.

‘We have also undergone some changes in personnel and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution our managing editor Sarah Farquharson has made to the editorial team during her time with Books+Publishing. Sarah has moved on to an exciting new challenge. She goes with our thanks for her significant contribution during a time of transition from being part of a multinational to a small, locally owned and operated business. Sarah’s departure marks the return of Matthia Dempsey, who is well known to the industry, having previously been editor-in-chief of Books+Publishing. Matthia will assume Sarah’s digital responsibilities during the Covid-19 crisis, working with Kelsey Oldham and Brad Jefferies to produce our Daily newsletters and the WBN.

‘Long-term member of the Books+Publishing family Andrew Wrathall has branched out to look for different challenges in the online world, thankfully he remains our web master and technical support. Andy’s contribution to Books+Publishing in a variety of roles has been immense. Vanessa Pengelly, who many will know from our PacStream days, has stepped in to take on a number of responsibilities previously performed by Andy and is working closely with Fi and the editorial team to deliver your promotional and advertising needs.

‘Our editorial team of Matthia, Brad, and Kelsey, with contributions from former editor-in-chief Andrea Hanke in the UK; our marketing team of Vanessa and Fi, working with all stakeholders around subscriptions and advertising; and Andrew, supporting the website: all remain passionate and dedicated to delivering the news and contributing to the sense of normalcy we all seek.’

Category: B+P announcements