4/11/2025

Meet Louise Stark, CEO of Hachette Australia & New Zealand, recipient of the George Robertson Award in 2025 for her unwavering dedication and contribution to the industry.

How and when did you enter the book industry? 

After doing a Science Degree at UQ, I decided science wasn’t for me and headed to London for an adventure. An opportunity to join a publisher in an entry level admin role came up and I took it.

'As a heavy reader, it was a dream I had never even dared to dream come true!

My first role was at a part-works publisher, Marshall Cavendish, based in Soho, London. I was in the books department, where they re-purposed the content from the part-works to create illustrated non-fiction books. On my first day I had to learn how to turn on a computer, type and send a fax. It was quite stressful.

I spent over 10 years working in publishing in London, at illustrated start-up Ryland Peters & Small (I actually memorised their first 100 ISBNs, I know weird), then at Faber for a couple of years before finding my feet at Hodder UK. I worked predominantly in sales, but also did some rights, export, marketing and publicity!

What has kept you in publishing over the years?

The books and people really. I really love supporting writers and connecting their work to readers. As publishers, we fall in love with great voices, great stories then work with those writers to produce the best possible version of their work and connect that work to readers in ingenious ways.

‘I believe that all books are unique, and as publishers we approach each as a mini start-up.’

With extraordinary creativity we find the best pathways to reach readers for every story. That’s pretty darn fun and means that I get to work with some of the most interesting, insightful and creative people at Hachette and more broadly. Authors, agents, booksellers, printers, distributors, festivals, the media and increasingly influencers all work together to share the stories we believe readers will love as much as we do - the stories that entertain, the stories that change minds.

And of course, there is the reading itself. Getting goosebumps on reading a brilliant manuscript is always a thrill.

What have been some of your career highlights?

Gosh there have been so many! Securing a 30,000-copy order for David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas from Waterstones was pretty amazing. Watching everyone at ABIA 2025 sing 'You’re the Voice' on the John Farnham win this year was joyful.

‘Every year, I think the Hachette conference is the best ever, and often have a little cry, and then the next year, it’s even better!’

Eating Malaysian with Geraldine Brooks, shooting the breeze with indie booksellers at the BookPeople conference bar, working with the team at ADS on continual improvement, breaking Bookscan records, listening to author interviews on Conversations, long signing lines at festivals, our Changing the Story networks, launching Australia Reads, serving on the boards of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the APA, seeing Hachette’s people flourish...I could go on and on.

What’s next for your career? Is there a particular project or challenge you'd like to tackle next?

I think I already have the best job in the world, so I’d like to keep connecting great books to readers. I am excited about our plans for modernisation at Hachette and ADS and we’ve got an exciting announcement from Hachette a little later this year. Weathering market changes for challenges and opportunities is always interesting, and we have some serious challenges on the horizon for the industry, particularly around AI and ensuring that creators are financially rewarded for their work.

‘Australia Reads is very exciting. With in depth behavioural science research into Australian reader barriers to reading, we can work together as an industry to encourage Australians to read more. I’d love to see a big, well-funded reading campaign in the next couple of years.’

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in the industry? How have you applied it?

‘Make decisions quickly. You might get some wrong, but allowing people to move on without waiting on you is important.’

That’s been gold really. And it might sound deceptively simple but do what you say you are going to do.

Learn more about other George Robertson Award recipients here.