25/07/2023
Shortlisted for the 2023 Australian publishing industry’s Rising Star award, HarperCollins and HQ Books digital marketing manager Eloise Plant is always working creatively and looking for new solutions to embrace change. With the rise of artificial intelligence Eloise says ‘it would be great to see the industry grapple with this new technology’ (which is just what will happen at this year's BookUp conference), as she shares insights into her career to date, and hopes for the future of the industry.
What achievements are you proudest of in your career so far?
I am very proud of how myself, and my fellow marketing team, were able to pivot during the 2020 lockdown. It was a totally unprecedented event and overnight we had to rewrite the book on how we managed marketing strategy. Much of what we did moved online, and although the circumstances were less than ideal, I did enjoy the challenge of coming up with inventive ways to continue to interact with readers and support books even through a lockdown.
Creatively this led to unique and inspired ways to communicate through social media that we still employ today. A particular highlight for me was a challenge where we got authors and readers to recreate book covers from home!
Lily Malone recreated her cover for The Last Bridge Before Home using Lego!
Janet Gover knitted her cover The Lawson Sisters
This year's BookUp program has a strong focus on professional development – what kind of training would be useful for your career or your peers in the industry?
The rise of artificial intelligence is the hot topic of 2023, and although I am firmly of the belief that AI will never replace human creativity, I think when wielded as a tool for efficiency it can be invaluable. It would be great to see the industry grapple with this new technology and formulate innovative ways to use AI within the industry that can increase our efficiency and enable more time for creative thinking and strategy.
What are some of the opportunities or challenges you would like to see the publishing industry tackle in the future?
With the imminent vote on the Voice to Parliament later this year, I’d love to see the publishing industry tackle the issue of Indigenous voices more thoroughly, reflecting on how much of an Indigenous voice is represented not only in what we publish but also in who works behind the scenes in the industry. Further to this, I think the industry could always be striving for diversity and inclusion. Not merely in the content of the books, the voices chosen to highlight and the workers behind the scenes, but also in terms of accessibility to books themselves.
Hear more from those shortlisted for the Rising Star award at BookUp on 16 August, with the winner announced at the post-conference networking drinks that evening in Melbourne. You can learn more about the BookUp program and discover the full Rising Star shortlist here.
The Rising Star award is proudly supported by Media Super, the super fund dedicated to those who publish, inform, entertain, create and inspire.