Mentoring Programme

1. Business owners and heads of publishing houses in trade and educational publishing who may be:

• without access to on-the-job development, or
• lacking skill in a particular area such as finance, business strategy, publishing list development, or
• in growth mode and/or about to undertake substantial change, or need to make change but are unsure what the change should be

2. Mid-career employees in trade and educational publishing who may be:

• without access to relevant on-the-job development, or
• taking on a new or substantially different role within the publishing industry requiring job-specific upskilling or development not available on-the-job or via other PANZ training, or
• lacking skill or experience in a particular area of publishing such as sales, marketing, publicity, production, design or editing.

The mentorship is intended as an active programme with measurable outputs. PANZ will provide a simple structure and guidelines for the mentor and the protégé.

We suggest the mentor and protégé each sign up for six months, after an initial meeting to establish whether the mentor and protégé are the right fit. This meeting would typically include a series of questions, and a SWOT analysis and identification of goals for the mentorship. The protégé will enter into a contract with PANZ and the mentor. At the end of the period the mentor and protégé will complete feedback on what worked and what didn’t work. A neutral mentoring overseer will be appointed in case the mentor-protégé relationship is not working, with a subsequent simple process to follow.

PANZ has a list of approved potential mentors with a variety of expertise in different fields. The applicant is welcome to suggest their own mentor but acceptance will be at PANZ discretion.

All applicants will need to meet the following criteria

• Be a current member of PANZ.
• Be a head of a publishing house or a business owner, or
• Be a mid-career employee of a trade or educational publishing house able to demonstrate the support of their employer in their application.
• Have been involved in the New Zealand publishing industry for at least 12 months.

Application process

• Applicants, and where relevant their employers, need to articulate the significance a successful mentorship will have to their business or career.
• Applicants will be asked to report directly to PANZ on the result of the mentorship.
• Applicants will be selected twice-annually by an independent committee established by PANZ council.
• Applications must be made using the relevant form.
• The mentorship will be free of cost for the protégé.

Awarding of funding

• Funding will be awarded to the mentor at the discretion of the committee established by PANZ  council and correspondence will not be entered into.
• On completion of the programme, the mentor and the protégé will be required to submit feedback to PANZ on the form supplied.
• Mentors will be awarded funds on completion of the feedback form.
• No payment will be made for the initial meeting.

Applications for the mentoring programme fund will be called twice yearly (July and February).

Download the PANZ Mentorship Application Form below.

“Over six months, we took a deep dive into the world of New Zealand publishing together and worked through a range of topics from foundational publishing principles and best practice, to strategy, skills and career development.

This mentorship was exactly what I needed in this stage of my career, and has helped me gain knowledge and skills to do my job more confidently and efficiently. It has also helped me to think more strategically in my current role at Auckland Council Libraries, as well as in my own skills development and career growth.”

Ella Fischer, Publishing Partnerships Specialist Auckland Libraries – Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau mentored by Sam Elworthy, Director Auckland University Press

“The six months I’ve spent with the wonderful Melanie Laville-Moore from Allen & Unwin has supercharged my knowledge and understanding of publishing. From in-depth analysis of financial, budgeting and sales data, to broad discussions of publishing principles, challenges and goals, Melanie has been a generous and candid mentor. Her encouragement and depth of understanding has given me the impetus to be much more ambitious in my own career, and to be confident in my own ability to effect real change.” Craig Gamble, Te Herenga Waka University Press

Craig Gamble, Te Herenga Waka University Press mentored by Melanie Laville-Moore, Managing Director New Zealand, Allen & Unwin

Ryn Richmond, Ryn Richmond Writes mentored by Linda Cassells,Publishing Director, Calico Publishing

Jeff Brown, Intra-Q mentored by Tracy Strudley, Director GES

“The programme was great in helping me learn and understand some of the finer points of the industry that aren’t always obvious.  No matter how new or long in the tooth you are with an open mind you will learn and be challenged.” Beau Davidson, DHD Publishing

Beau Davidson, DHD Publishing mentored by Linda Cassells, Publishing Director, Calico Publishing

“We felt that the PANZ mentoring programme captured much of our understanding of a key relationship principle in te ao Māori-Ako. The concept of ako describes a teaching and learning relationship, where the teacher is also learning from the student. Ako is grounded in the idea of reciprocity and we really valued the opportunity to participate in such a well formed programme.” Kitty Brown, Reo Pepi

Kitty Brown and Kirsten Parker, Reo Pepi mentored by Jenny Hellen, Publishing Director, Allen & Unwin New Zealand

“I think it’s great initiative to help small or new independents in particular, as those who have been around a bit longer can easily help them with information, industry practices, contacts and/or ways of dealing with issues, strategies etc that they wouldn’t otherwise pick up on easily.” David Ling, Director, David Ling Publishing

Melanie Bayly, Ako Book mentored by David Ling, David Ling Publishing

“It was wonderful to work along side David Ling, It was an invaluable experience to talk to someone in the industry that I could bounce ideas off, as well as understand some of the processes while receiving guidance along the way.” Kathryn Enchmarch, Black Chook Books

Kathryn Enchmarch and Martin Bailey, Black Chook Books mentored by David Ling

Sally Greer, Beatnik Books mentored by Tony Fisk,Former Managing Director of HarperCollins New Zealand

Ormond Greensill, Tucker Media, mentored by Peter Dowling, Founder and Publisher, Oratia Media

Anna Ryan, Ryan Publications Limited mentored by David Glover, Consultant and Director, Creative Strategies