Alison Brook is to join HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand taking up the newly created local Head of Publishing role, reporting to Managing Director Tony Fisk.
Alison Brook joins HarperCollins from Penguin Books New Zealand, where she was Publisher Non Fiction. In her new role at Harper Collins, Alison will be responsible for developing strategies that will continue the growth of HarperCollins New Zealand publishing. Together with the other members of the HarperCollins publishing team, she will work with existing HarperCollins’ authors, such as the perennial bestsellers, parenting expert Nigel Latta and social justice commentator Celia Lashlie, in the further development of their publishing careers. She will oversee HarperCollins’ publishing programmes with organisations such as the New Zealand Olympics Committee and the SPCA, and develop exciting new opportunities with other organizations. In addition, Alison will bring on board new authors and publishing projects, and work closely with the company’s international offices to enhance opportunities for international distribution and foreign rights sales for HarperCollins New Zealand authors.
‘HarperCollins Publishers has experienced strong growth in local publishing across fiction, children’s and non-fiction titles over the past few years,’ said Tony Fisk, ‘but, we see further significant opportunities in nurturing brand authors and developing ongoing publishing strategies for new talent. Alison will bring her enormously valuable commercial publishing experience in non-fiction publishing to this new role, and will contribute significantly to future growth of the company and its continuing commitment to the New Zealand bookselling industry.’
‘I’m very excited at the prospects of working with the HarperCollins team, both at local and international levels,’ says Ms Brook. ‘I’m also looking forward to developing some exciting new projects with existing authors on the list, and, in time, to developing new authors and publishing connections.’
Alison Brook begins her new role with HarperCollins on Monday, 12 July.