Hachette Australia and Emerging Writers’ Festival present Inside the Publishing House

Hachette Australia is teaming up with the Emerging Writers’ Festival for a special one-day online experience on 12 March 2021 to demystify the inner workings of one of Australia’s biggest trade publishing houses.

For emerging writers, publishing houses are often places of great mystery and intrigue. This unique virtual event takes you behind the scenes at Hachette Australia. Throughout the day-long program, participants will have the chance to learn about the intricacies of the book publishing journey from pitch to publication and to hear from publishers, editors, publicists, marketers and salespeople who will reveal the ins and outs of all parts of the publishing process.

Special guest and bestselling author of Booktopia’s #2 book of 2020 The Loudness of Unsaid Things, Hilde Hinton, will share her personal publishing experience in a panel with Hachette’s Head of Narrative Non-fiction and Literary Publishing, Vanessa Radnidge.

Fiona Hazard, Group Publishing Director said: ‘At Hachette, we relish the opportunity to open our doors to emerging writers through this special EWF event. We’re delighted to share our passion for what we do and give writers the chance to hear first-hand from the people who make our books happen, from our editorial and publishing teams through to our sales and publicity team and, of course, from our authors. We hope you’ll find it a really inspiring day and we can’t wait to welcome you!’

Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh, Artistic Director and co-CEO of Emerging Writers’ Festival said: ‘Inside the Publishing House gives emerging writers rare access and insight into the inner-workers of the publishing industry. At EWF, we get countless questions every year about what publishers want, how to get your work in front of them and what happens after you've signed a contract. Inside the Publishing House is a chance to have all those questions answered. It's an invaluable experience for writers, emerging and otherwise, and we are so proud to partner again with Hachette to present this opportunity for learning to our audience.’

Hachette Australia represents an array of A-list international and local authors and publishes around 100 new Australian titles every year. Its stellar line-up of local authors includes bestselling two-time Golden Dagger winner and ABIA Fiction winner Michael Robotham; bestselling and award-winning ABIA Book of the Year winner Jessica Townsend; Pulitzer Prize-winner Geraldine Brooks; Australia’s bestselling non-fiction writer and favourite storyteller Peter FitzSimons; New York Times-bestselling novelist Natasha Lester; Miles Franklin-shortlisted Michael Mohammed Ahmad; and the Lothian Children’s Books author and illustrator and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Shaun Tan.

Places are limited. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Inside the Publishing House Program
Friday, 12 March 2021

11.00am : Welcome!

Kick the day off by meeting Fiona Hazard, Hachette’s Group Publishing Director, followed by a virtual tour of the Hachette offices in Sydney’s CBD. Meet some of the Hachette team as they tell you about their roles, how they got to where they are today and what they enjoy most about the publishing industry.

11.20am-12.00pm: Unpacking the Publication Process

So you’ve got yourself a book deal, but what comes next? This session unpacks the multi-faceted publication journey that follows signing a contract.

From the publisher’s vision for your book, to the editorial process all the way through to marketing plans, publicity, and getting the book into bookstores through the sales team, this session will tell you everything you didn’t know you needed to know about getting published.

Featuring Group Publishing Director Fiona Hazard, Senior Editor Sophie Mayfield, Production and Audio Manager Isabel Staas, Junior Rights and Contracts Executive Anjelica Rush, Senior Publicist Tessa Connelly and National and Online Accounts Manager Lillian Kovats, this session is an unmissable one stop shop for all things publishing.

12.05-12.35pm: What Publishers Want

This session is your chance to hear it straight from the people who make the decisions, the publishers. What are they looking for when they decide which manuscripts to acquire? How can you make them sit up and listen during a pitch? What are the insider tips and tricks that will not only guarantee that they’ll read your manuscript, but that might also help you secure a book deal?

Featuring Head of Fiction Rebecca Saunders, Head of Children’s Jeanmarie Morosin and Head of Non-fiction and Literary Vanessa Radnidge, this session will provide a blueprint for how to pitch, who to pitch to and how to get that deal.

12.35pm-1.05pm: Lunch

1.05-2.05pm: Masterclass: Pitch Perfect

Ahead of the afternoon’s pitching session, whip your pitch into shape with a pitching masterclass with Hachette Non-fiction Publisher Sophie Hamley. What is unique about your book? Why should publishers read it? What do you need to say and what do you need to not say? Find out the must-haves for a successful pitch and the pitching pitfalls to avoid.

In a specially designed workshop, Sophie will run through the mechanics of pitching and pitch documents, giving participants time to work on elements of their own draft pitches as they are discussed and dissected, with all your questions answered along the way. This hands-on masterclass will give you an incredible opportunity to work on your pitch under the guidance of an industry leader, including bespoke advice, instruction and insights.

2.05pm - 2.20pm: Afternoon tea break

2.20-3.05pm: In Conversation: Hilde Hinton and Vanessa Radnidge

Join Hilde Hinton and Vanessa Radnidge as they discuss the journey from draft to bookshelf.

Hilde Hinton has been a dedicated big sister to Connie and Samuel Johnson her whole life. She is currently a Prison Officer who has avoided being a writer for many years but has finally succumbed. The Loudness of Unsaid Things was her debut novel and was recently voted #2 in Booktopia’s nationwide poll for Best Book of 2020.

Vanessa Radnidge is Hachette’s Head of Narrative Non-Fiction and Literary and is Hilde’s publisher.

3.10-4.10pm: Pitch Time!

Opened by Hachette Australia’s CEO Louise Sherwin-Stark, this session is your chance to put what you’ve learned into practice and pitch your manuscript to the Hachette team! Publishers are always on the lookout for new and exciting voices, so here’s your chance to show them yours.

The Hachette team who will be hearing your 5-minute live pitches includes Group Publishing Director Fiona Hazard, Head of Non-Fiction and Literary Vanessa Radnidge, Publisher Louise Adler along with Managing Editor Emma Rafferty.