Q&A with Ann Mallinson

Ann Mallinson recently announced the sale of her publishing company, Mallinson Rendel Publishers, to Penguin New Zealand. In light of this announcement, we thought we'd ask her a few questions about her impressive publishing career and plans for the future...

1. What inspired you to go into publishing in the first place? What was Plan B?

I spent the first years of my life travelling and doing ‘temporary’ jobs, in Tangier, Tel Aviv  and Wellington. Then I returned to London, and was offered the position of Assistant to the Editors of two international journals at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. They said I must stay at least two years. I loved it, and stayed for three. I learnt a lot about editing there, and when I returned to Wellington in 1965, I tried to get a job in publishing. Easier said than done, with only one general publisher (A.H. and A.W. Reed) and one legal publisher (Sweet & Maxwell (NZ) Ltd.) in the city. I did manage to get a proof-readers job with the latter company nine months later. Plan B was to try my luck in broadcasting.

2.  What have been some publishing highlights in your career to date?

I suppose the day Lynley read and offered to us HAIRY MACLARY FROM DONALDSON’S DAIRY. I knew instantly that it was a winner. (You have to get something right in publishing!) The only other publishing experience that comes near it in excitement was the day David Hill’s SEE YA, SIMON arrived on my desk. I didn’t leave my seat until I had read the entire manuscript.

3.  You built this hugely successful company from scratch. What inspired the difficult decision to sell?

Yes, we did build this company from scratch, we being my partner David Rendel and me, Judy Harper, who joined us in 1984, and the many talented editors who have been part of Mallinson Rendel. And yes, deciding to sell was a very difficult decision. But I am now 75, and it seemed, and still seems, the sensible thing to do.

4.  What are your plans for the future?

I will be Lynley Dodd’s agent for film and theatre, which may or may not keep me busy. We have many approaches for both, but there is always one reason or another why negotiations come to a halt. Lynley and I consider it essential that the essence of Hairy Maclary is maintained at all times. That is how all proposals are judged. Paul Jenden and Jan Bolton achieved this with “The Hairy Maclary Show”. We know that one day a director/producer will come along who can think outside the square.

5.  What do you think is the most challenging issue facing publishers in the coming year?

Ebooks have many challenges. I don’t think that the ebook revolution will be as simple as was the introduction of paperbacks by Allen Lane. It will all be challenging and interesting.

6.  Where is your favourite place to read, and what’s next on your reading pile?

My favourite place to read is on the back lawn of my bach at Waikanae. It has both sun and shade and is perfect for reading. I have just started Gerald Hensley’s BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD – New Zealand and Its Allies 1939-45 (Viking), which is extraordinarily interesting. There have been many books about the war and the horrific battles that were fought in Africa, Italy and elsewhere.   This book is about the politics behind the war. How Peter Fraser got the best deal he could for our service people, how he and his government came to realise that we had to rely on Washington rather than London for our security.