Name: Tom Rennie
Role: Publisher
Company: Bridget Williams Books (BWB)
My role on the PANZ council is: I lead the work on the copyright portfolio and, of course, securing a good outcome from the Review of the Copyright Act is PANZ’s top priority. It’s very much a team effort (Sam Elworthy at AUP continues to contribute a huge amount) and we still have a long road ahead.
My first job in publishing was: I was actually an intern at BWB! Bridget provided me with a wonderfully generous introduction to New Zealand publishing (as she has done for many in the industry today), including arranging work experience stints for me with Robbie Burton and Allen & Unwin in Sydney. I’ve been absolutely hooked ever since.
I’m currently reading: I’ve finally got around to reading Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy by Jonathan Haskel & Stian Westlake. It’s a dry yet intriguing analysis of how intangible assets – including, of course, intellectual property – have been under-appreciated in how we assess economies around the world. Importantly, this includes the value we place on copyright (and, essentially, ‘knowledge’). I know it’s been an influential book with some New Zealand policymakers, so I’m partly reading it in the hope it will be of use for the Review work…
My biggest career highlight in publishing has been: As publisher for the BWB Texts series, seeing lots of young New Zealand non-fiction authors write these little books has definitely been a highlight. I’m now working with a growing number of them on full-format ‘big’ books, which is exciting for the future of our publishing at BWB.
Audiobooks NZ work in audiobook production and distribution of downloadable audiobooks specialising in New Zealand content.
When Adrian Keane successfully negotiated a contract with Pearson Australia to become the sales agent for Pearson lists in New Zealand some eleven months ago, he faced two immediate challenges. One was staff and premises, the other ‘what do we call our new company’.
Finding the name for the new business was much harder. Words were proposed, dictionaries consulted and Edify was the choice. Adrian (pictured right) says that all dictionaries include a ‘helps you learn’ interpretation of the word, as in the use ‘edifying experience’. Younger people thought the ‘fy’ ending related to technology, an analogy that appealed and the all important web domain name was available. Now the word is part of company lore… as in “Have you Edified that document yet?”
