Five Things You Need Working in Publishing

1. A shoe addiction, as strange as that sounds. Everybody in my department wears the most amazing shoes. I feel like I'm surrounded by Carrie Bradshaws.


2. Nice penmanship. I send out a lot of review copies that have been requested, meaning I have to handwrite the addresses.


3. A good barista. The one closest to my office is a little dodgy. Must explore area further.


4. Enormous personal strength. Otherwise I will blow all of my money on expensive clothes every lunchbreak. Working two minutes away from the heart of Sydney's shopping district is difficult.


5. The ability to bullshit. Writing press releases is a fine art of reworking a book's blurd into something similiar yet fresh. Add a few images, author bio and positive reviews and presto! Press release.

Week one is complete and I think I'm going to like it here. Week two lies ahead.

An Ode to Bridget Jones

In celebration of starting my new role as a publicist for a major publishing house, I thought it would be best to watch my favourite movie about another publicist - Bridget Jones's Diary.






Never a fan of the book, I think on-screen Bridget is absolutely brilliant and I have now watched this movie so many times I can quote large chunks of it.


One would hope, however, that at launch parties I am slightly more elegant under pressure. Perhaps it is best I try to avoid the microphone... I also have somewhat better fashion sense than poor Bridget and while I may 'fanny about with press releases' it is highly unlikely that I will be wearing a see-through top or non-existent skirt.


But she is a quirky, pie-in-the-sky daydreamer and I will never tire of this movie.