Stephanie Wood has been appointed to the newly created position of group publisher at Melbourne-based publishing house, Geoff Slattery Publishing (GSP), with direct responsibility for managing the company’s expanding book publishing interests. Wood joins GSP after three years in Hong Kong as managing editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal’s weekend Personal Journal section and before that as editor of The Good Food Guide and Epicure at The Age. Wood also spent two years as a sub-editor at The Independent and The Daily Mail in London.
Her appointment follows significant growth in book publishing activities for GSP, headed by Geoff Slattery, former journalist and Victorian publishing identity. The company’s catalogue has increased from a single title in 2002 to 10 in 2004, with plans for up to 15 titles in 2005. Traditionally, GSP is a publisher of sports-related publications (the company also trades as AFL Publishing, with the contract to produce books and magazines on behalf of the Australian Football League). Wood’s role will include expanding the company’s range of titles into other genres including food, Australian life, body/mind and spirit, and art and design.
“I’m excited about my brief, which is to produce books that help Australians understand themselves, their cities and towns, their country, and their place in the world,” says Wood.
“We have a fabulous fund of ideas across a range of subjects that will help me achieve that goal.”
