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HISTORY
I have extensive experience in the production side of literary publishing, and am now looking to broaden my skills and experience to include other areas of publishing. In particular I am interested in moving into literary agency.
I left Adelaide University in 2003 to pursue work in the publishing industry. I was the work experience kid at Seaview Press for a long time, while supporting myself as a day labourer. Seaview gave me a short-term, part-time contract as an in-house typesetter, which brought me to the attention of the production staff at Wakefield Press.
I met with Wakefield and began working part-time with them as my contract wound up at Seaview. Wakefield employed me as a typesetter knowing I had aspirations to work as an editor, so they allowed me to take manuscripts home to demonstrate my ability. I was soon spending as much time editing as I was typesetting.
I began attending literary festivals in Melbourne around 2005 and soon got caught up with the Voiceworks crowd – a quarterly literature magazine produced by people my own age, I was immediately sucked in. Nine months after meeting the Editorial Committee at This is Not Art in Newcastle, I had moved to Melbourne to take up the editorship. Wakefield were supportive through the whole process, and I finished my work with them as a freelancer. I have continued to work as a freelance for Wakefield while in Melbourne.
Working at Voiceworks gave me the opportunity to stretch my wings and take on responsibilities I hadn’t known I was ready for. The expansive and diverse workload demanded that I learn and respond quickly. The experience inculcated an urge to further my career nurturing young and emerging writers. During a brief sabbatical after Voiceworks, Paine Management was born.
FUTURE
My long-term plan is to work as an independent, international Australian literary agent, by establishing and mobilising the operations of Paine Management, my publishing-services business.
Meanwhile, I want to continue working in the publishing industry, and my enterprising spirit will be applied to any suitable role. My long-term ambitions will not prevent me from committing to the right position and meeting obligations of loyalty to the right workplace.
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