Sixteen leading overseas publishing industry representatives will be in Sydney from 18 to 24 May, searching for new Australian titles as part of the Australia Council for the Artsí Visiting International Publishers (VIP) program.
Acclaimed publishers, literary agents and scouts from 11 countries will offer insights into global literary trends and opportunities for Australian writers overseas. Now in its twelfth year, the VIP program is part of this yearís hugely popular Sydney Writersí Festival.
Five panel discussions involving the visiting international publishers will be held at the Sydney Writers’ Festival over two days (21 and 22 May) to discuss topics ranging from publishing trends in the US and India, the increasing adult market for children’s literature, and the road to publishing a bestseller.
The VIP program is an initiative of the Australia Council to promote rights sales of Australian titles into overseas markets and to strengthen links between Australian and overseas publishing houses and literary agencies.
Since its beginning, the VIP program has hosted 128 publishing representatives from Europe, the UK, USA, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Israel, Brazil and India, with more than 300 Australian titles sold into overseas markets through the program.
“The outstanding success of the VIP program over the past decade shows that there’s strong interest in Australian writing across the rest of the world. Books such as Kate Grenville’s The Secret River, Dr Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers and Kate Morton’s The Shifting Fog have been sold overseas through the program,” said Kathy Keele, the Australia Council’s Chief Executive Officer.
Charles Conrad, Vice President and Deputy Editorial Director, Broadway Books, a part of Random House USA, will participate in this year’s program. In his esteemed career, Conrad has worked with many prominent authors including Geraldine Brooks (Nine Parts of Desire), Frances Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun) and Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild).
Joining him will be Amy Einhorn, Vice President and Publisher of Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons at Penguin US. Einhorn has published a number of New York Times Bestsellers including The Red Hat Society by Sue Ellen Cooper. David Kent, CEO and President of Harper Collins Canada, will also participate. He has worked with authors including the late Carol Shields, Lawrence Hill, Marilynne Robinson, Barbara Gowdy, Michel Faber, Isabel Allende, Jonathan Franzen and Tom Wolfe.
Other prominent guests of the 2009 VIP program include:
- Jackie Huang, Literary Agent, Andrew Nurnberg Associates International (China)
- John McLay, Childrenís Literary Scout (UK)
- Saugata Mukherjee, Senior Commissioning Editor, Rights Manager, Harper Collins (India)
- Sarah Odedina, Publishing Director, Bloomsbury Childrenís Book (UK)
- Elena Ramirez, Editorial Director, Seix Barral (Spain)
- Nita Taublib, Executive Vice President, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Bantam Dell, Random House (USA).
For a full list and more information on VIP participants, visit creative.gov.au/vip/
Media enquiries – Emma Heath, 0413 768 588 or e.heath@creative.gov.au
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