Name: Jasmine Sargent
Role: Editor
Company: Victoria University Press
My first job in publishing was: Publishing Assistant at Te Papa Press. I was studying publishing at Whitireia at the time — I couldn’t have hoped for a better introduction to the industry, and I love the Te Papa Press team.
I’m currently reading: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. It’s a novel about gender discrimination in Korean society, written by South Korean author Cho Nam-Joo.
My biggest career highlight in publishing has been: I’ve got a pretty recent one! Airini Beautrais’ short story collection Bug Week just won the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2021 Ockhams, and I was the lucky editor. Airini is brilliant to work with, and the editorial process was especially memorable because it happened during lockdown last year.