Vale Peg McColl

Former Penguin Books Australia rights and contracts manager Peg McColl died on 19 August.

Bob Sessions, Penguin Books Australia publishing director from 1988 to 2017, writes:

It is with great sadness that former friends and colleagues learned of the passing of Peg McColl on 19 August. She is remembered for her professionalism, generous help and friendliness by all who were fortunate enough to work with her.

Peg McColl started her long and distinguished career as rights and contracts manager for Penguin Books Australia as a part-time photocopy assistant at the Ringwood head office of Penguin in 1981. She went on to become one of the most highly respected rights and contracts managers in the industry.

Without any formal legal training, she became the go-to rights adviser for authors and editors and frequently ran rings around more formally qualified legal practitioners. Her contribution to Penguin, especially at a time of rapid growth, was incalculable.

In every successful publishing company, there is someone who knows the key facts, someone who is trusted to give the right advice. In Penguin Australia, that person was Peg McColl.

Whether she was going through the finer points of a contract with an author or agent (always as a gentle persuader, rather than as a tough negotiator) or if she was representing Penguin at an international book fair, Peg had the facts at her fingertips and her considerable experience to rely on.

Penguin author Morris Gleitzman said about Peg: ‘Twenty-seven years ago I sat down to negotiate my first Penguin publishing agreement with Peg, and after ten minutes I wanted her to be my agent’.

Sonya Hartnett surely spoke for many Penguin authors and illustrators when she said: ‘It was always a pleasure to hear Peg’s voice on the phone because every time she telephoned it was going to be good news. She was such a nice lady.’

From Graeme Base: ‘She was one of the good ones—and was able to cut through the jargon and explain things in a way an artist could understand!’

From agent Margaret Connolly: ‘Peg was such an indomitable figure—and one of the pillars of Penguin throughout our careers.’

And, finally from Paul Jennings: ‘Peg was instrumental in helping me learn the ropes as a young author. She generously negotiated my Round The Twist script-writing contracts with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation even though it was not part of her job description. I always enjoyed her perceptive sense of humour and am greatly saddened by her passing.’

Category: Obituaries