2024 judges to be announced soon.
About the judges of the 2023 Australian Business Book Awards
Our judging panel comprises experts and authorities in traditional publishing, self-publishing, editing, design, printing, ebooks, audiobooks, bookselling and book coaching. All of the judges are giving their time and expertise freely with no financial gain. Judges who have played a role in the development and/or production of a specific book that falls into their judging category advise the award organisers of this conflict and take no part in the judging of that particular book.
Andrew Griffiths
Andrew Griffiths is highly regarded as one of the leading small business and entrepreneurial authors in Australia. He has written 14 books, published by Allen & Unwin and Simon & Schuster. Andrew’s books have been translated into 10 languages, from Russian to Chinese, and they have been sold in 65 countries. Andrew is also a Book Writing Coach; he has personally mentored 750 new authors to write and publish their first book.
Michael Hanrahan
Michael completed his Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing at Deakin University in 1997, and has since worked in-house and as a freelancer. He has held the positions of editor, production coordinator, and managing editor for Wrightbooks (Australia’s leading publisher of business and finance titles) and John Wiley & Sons Australia.
He has worked with many bestselling authors, has experience in print management, publishing, writing, and editing, and has worked with companies such as Oxford University Press, Random House, RMIT Publishing, Australian Book Review, Hardie Grant, and Overland. Michael is a regular presenter at the annual Small Press Network publishing conference. Michael is the founder and Director of Publishing at Publish Central, and is a leading expert in self-publishing for small business.
www.publishcentral.com.au
Lesley Williams
In 2009, Lesley Williams launched Major Street Publishing, an independent publishing company, specialising in business, leadership, personal finance and investment books. Lesley has over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in global corporations and privately-owned companies, predominantly in business book publishing, including as publisher at Wrightbooks and John Wiley & Sons, and CEO at Five Mile Press. She is a hands-on publisher who guides the authors and their books from manuscript to bookshop shelves.
Valerie Khoo
Valerie Khoo is Founder and CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre, the country’s leading centre for writing courses. As a journalist and editor, she has held senior positions in high-circulating magazines and contributed regularly to the country’s biggest selling newspapers, including The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
For seven years, she was the small business commentator at Fairfax and is author of the book Power Stories: The 8 Stories you MUST tell to build an epic business. She is co-host of the top-rating podcast ‘So you want to be a writer’, and is also co-author of the book of the same name. Valerie mentors non-fiction writers through her courses and masterclass programs.
Charlotte Duff
Charlotte began her career at John Wiley & Sons Australia, editing titles within their Wrightbooks and For Dummies divisions. During her 10 years at John Wiley, Charlotte became Commissioning Editor for the For Dummies division. Charlotte has edited a vast array of business titles, helping authors structure their books in an organised, logical way so the information flowed well and was easy to understand while also ensuring the project retained the author’s voice and stayed true to their vision.
Charlotte is the senior editor at Publish Central, and also works as a freelance editor – her clients include Macmillan Education, Text Publishing, Allen & Unwin and Hardie Grant.
Ann Wilson
Ann Wilson is the owner of Post Pre-press and the founder of Independent Ink, specialising in helping authors produce beautiful, professional books through traditional publishing and self-publishing. In May 2019, Ann co-founded Indie Experts to work with authors in the before, during and after stages of writing a book.
Ann is also the author of The Entrepreneurs’ Guide to Self-Publishing: How to write, publish and leverage your business book. Ann has published a book that will take you from an idea to a published book and beyond.
Working with a range of clients from self-publishing authors, traditional publishers, corporates and small business owners, Ann has helped to publish books and documents people are proud to share. Ann is passionate about storytelling and helping people experience the dream of being a published author.
Ann is married to Richard, who runs a renovation business, and they are the proud parents to four children and pet parents to Wilson the Cavoodle and Magnus the cat.
Anna Featherstone
Anna Featherstone is the founder of Bold Authors, an online course hub empowering traditionally published and indie authors through the sharing of knowledge and nous. A book and author marketing, and self-publishing expert, she is passionate about non-fiction and has authored five books including the Australian Society of Authors’ recommended reading title Look–It’s Your Book! Write, Publish & Promote Your Non-Fiction Book: A Self-Publishing Guide for Australian Writers.
Anna’s words have appeared in The Guardian and Sydney Morning Herald and she is the Australian Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). When she’s not reading, writing and presenting, Anna loves chatting about bees, business and the big issues of our time.
Ocean Reeve
Ocean Reeve is the CEO of assisted independent publishing house Ocean Reeve Publishing. He has spoken at over 200 seminars and conferences and is regularly booked to speak about publishing, creative expression and leadership, workflow and sales.
Throughout his 20+ year career, Ocean has worked in educational, traditional and self-publishing in New Zealand and Australia and has played a role in bringing to life over 6500 publications. He has received several awards for his contribution to the creative community and service to authors and served two terms as the Gold Coast Writers’ Association President. He has also had the privilege to work alongside Emmy and Golden Globe Winning Actor William Shatner, Emmy Award Winning Musician Toni Childs, Nashville artist Wayne Warner, Best-Selling Author Lindy Chamberlin, and more.
Ocean has written three books, The Word, Change, and Inspire Your Fire, and Ocean Reeve Publishing has been voted by APAC Insiders Business Enterprise Awards as the 2021 Best Independent and Self-Publishing Company in Australasia, 2021 and 2022 Best Independent Publisher by Global 100, Gold Winner in Business Excellence through 2021 Roar Success Awards, and was a finalist in the Champion Small Business Awards 2021/22.
Kirsty Ogden
As a qualified publication designer and editor, and the owner of Brisbane Self Publishing Service, Kirsty Ogden is committed to helping authors produce well-polished and professional-looking books. With over 30 years’ experience in desktop publishing, editing and librarianship, she has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in all aspects of the book industry.
Working closely with a team of freelance editors, proofreaders and graphic artists, plus with access to a trusted network of publishing professionals (including printers, ebook conversion and audiobook production specialists), Kirsty offers clients a streamlined process to self-publish their book via her proprietary Let’s Get Published Framework®.
In addition, Kirsty is author of Let's Get Published: the Self-Publishing Playbook.
Pauline Phillips
Pauline started her editing journey nearly 30 years ago at Wrightbooks, where her inextinguishable passion for supporting authors to create their best work was ignited. Her next role was Senior Editor at John Wiley & Sons.
After relocating to London, for the following decade Pauline continued her career as an in-house editor, primarily in the voluntary sector. Over the last 10 years she has been working with clients around the globe as a freelance editor, proofreader and writer, specialising in the areas of health care, business, personal development and welfare rights. More recently, Pauline has also been working as an editor for a major UK welfare rights charity.
While many of her projects these days involve digital content, Pauline still prefers to read printed books and can’t imagine a world without them.
Bushy Martin
Bushy Martin is a self-professed readaholic and a committed bibliophile and always has a number of books on the go. In his remaining spare time he also helps others to work less and live more through his contributions as an award-winning author, media host, podcaster, and as one of Australia’s most highly respected property investment and finance experts.
He is the author of two books, including the acclaimed The Freedom Formula and the prequel Get Invested, which won two awards at the inaugural Australian Business Book Awards (and a third book is in the making!). Bushy is also recognised as one of the top ten property specialists in Australia and was awarded Mentor of the Year by the Adviser’s Better Business Awards.
He is the newly appointed anchor on Australia’s number one and longest running property program Real Estate Talk, and Bushy interviews some of the world’s leading investors and high performers each week on his podcast, Get Invested. He is also regularly interviewed himself by major media outlets including 60 Minutes, news.com.au and the Seven Network as a property and finance thought leader.
Bernadette Schwerdt
Bernadette is a former advertising agency executive and has worked on global campaigns for Apple, Amex and Colgate. In 2001, she founded the Australian School of Copywriting, and has since trained over 9000 people to become freelance copywriters.
Recently named in the Top 50 Small Business Leaders in Australia and a regular contributor to Sky News, Mamamia and Smart Company, Bernadette was also the producer and host of The Age newspaper’s online video series, ‘Secrets of Online Entrepreneurs’, which became a bestselling book of the same name. Her second book, How to Build an Online Business, went to number one on Amazon and her third book, Catch of the Decade, ghost-written for the billionaire brothers behind Catch.com and Menulog, was a number one bestselling business book on Booktopia and held that spot for three months.
Jaqui Lane
Jaqui is the founder of The Book Adviser, one of Australia’s leading business self-publishing companies and business book writing coaches.
The Business Book Adviser coaches business owners and consultants through the entire writing, publishing and marketing process so that they successfully write, produce and launch their book in 12 months to become a recognised expert in their field.
She is also one of Australia’s leading business historians, having written 27 company histories for ASX-listed companies, private family businesses and leading brands, published over 400 business histories and interviewed over 900 business and political leaders in Australia and around the world.
With over 30 years’ experience as a business writer, publisher and book marketing expert, Jaqui is passionate about sharing knowledge and changing the world for the better, one book at a time.
Zoë Routh
Zoë Routh is a leadership futurist, podcaster, and multiple award-winning author. She works with leaders and teams to explore what's coming and what it means for leadership of the future.
She has worked with individuals and teams internationally and in Australia since 1987. From wild Canadian rivers to the Australian Outback, and the Boardroom jungles, Zoë is an adventurist! She facilitates strategy and culture for the future with audacious teams.
Zoë's fourth leadership book, People Stuff - Beyond Personality Problems: An advanced handbook for leadership, won the Book of the Year at the Australian Business Book Awards in 2020. Her fifth book is a leadership futurist science fiction dystopian novel, The Olympus Project.
Zoë is the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to asking “What if…?” and sharing big ideas on the Future of Leadership.
Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is a self-confessed dark chocolate addict.
https://www.zoerouth.com
Karen McDermott
Award-winning publisher, author, and advanced Law of Attraction practitioner Karen McDermott is a sought-after speaker who shares her knowledge and wisdom on building publishing empires, establishing yourself as a successful author-publisher, and book writing.
Having built a highly successful publishing business from scratch, signing major authors, writing over 40 books, publishing over 400 authors, and establishing her own credible brand in the market, Karen has developed strategies and techniques based on tapping into the power of Knowing to create your dreams. Karen is a gifted teacher who inspires others to make magic happen in their lives through utilising her power of knowing strategies. She mentors multiple new authors through her Everything Publishing Academy.
Karen Comer
Karen Comer writes middle-grade and young adult verse novels. She’s a freelance editor, editing a range of fiction and non-fiction books. She also facilitates a monthly writing group and presents writing workshops to schools and holiday programs.
Wendy Parker
Former journalist and corporate sector escapee, Wendy heads up Parker Public Relations which specialises in PR, thought leadership and personal branding. Over the past 15 years Wendy has been working with individuals and organisations in the health, professional services, management consulting, technology, environmental and property investment sectors – helping them build their credibility and visibility with their customer base and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
In addition to helping clients develop their own guides, e-books and business books, Wendy has penned a few of her own.
Annie Reid
Annie is a senior journalist, copywriter and published author with a passion for property, design and architecture. As the founder of Atrium Media, she has written for many of Australia’s biggest selling newspapers, respected print magazines around the world as well as collaborated with leading organisations and agencies as an award-winning copywriter.
Annie’s love for telling stories led seamlessly into writing books, and she’s worked for over 15 years as a ghostwriter and author on property, business and lifestyle titles. She’s sought-after for her ability to turn words into commercial books on bookshelves, for clients including Major Street Publishing, Hardie Grant, MH Publishing and John Wiley & Sons – most recently Move Your Mind by Nick Bracks.
Peita Diamantidis
An Actuarial Studies survivor at university, Peita’s first adventure in finance over 20 years ago was set in the shark-infested waters of Investment Banking. While proving a human can actually work over 100 hours a week, she also learnt the importance of translating the complex for her clients – smarts simply weren’t enough. By anchoring important concepts with storytelling, her clients were able to absorb the intricate concepts and make decisions with confidence.
When Peita moved into Financial Advice this continued to ring true, and culminated in the release of her Finance Action Hero book series in 2014 and 2016. Peita now specialises in breaking people out of the daily grind and into their ideal future. Peita can be found in the wild empowering future explorers as a speaker, coach and host of The In Search of Adventure Show.
www.linkedin.com/in/peitamd/
Kelly Irving
Kelly makes book ideas better. As a best-selling book coach, editor, and creator of The Expert Author Academy, she mentors authors to bring their biggest, best and most commercially viable ideas to market, regardless of how they publish. Her work rates in the Top 100 Business Books every year in Australia, and results in global industry book awards (including previous ABBAs, of course).
The very first book she worked on was pitched to and published by John Wiley in 2012, and she is still to have a book pitch rejected by a major publisher. Her authors have secured deals with the likes of Pan Macmillan, Penguin, John Wiley, Major Street Publishing, Hachette, Affirm Press, and many more.
Kath Walters
Kath is a book coach, the founder of Brain to Book in 90 days, and a professional business writer and author of 25-plus years.
Kath works with coaches, speakers and other experts who want to write a brilliant book to open new opportunities and win market share. Clients working with Kath can expect to get clear and focused, write a brilliant book in 90 days, and attract their ideal clients.
Over Kath’s career at Fairfax Business Media and beyond, her stories appeared in the leading publications. Her books include Overnight Authority, Sticky Content and The Future Makers in Digital Technology.
Geoff Hetherington
A former 20+ year C suite executive across a dozen industries, Geoff has been a successful Business Consultant and Coach for over 10 years by way of Melbourne, Jakarta and Sydney. He is known as the Profitability Coach, founded the Elite Business Institute and is one of a handful of certified Advisory Board Chairs who also Chairs Governance Boards.
Equally at home strategising with C Suite executives or business owners; Geoff’s current focus is on showing the owners of established 6- or 7-figure businesses how to adjust to the next normal as Covid becomes a daily factor so they can bounce forward to growth and profitability.
His work enables business owners to get their businesses onto cruise control so they can work fewer Fridays and live the Lifestyle they want. In a nutshell, More Time, More Money and More Freedom is what he delivers. Geoff holds a BEd, and two MBAs (in Business and International Business). He resides on the NSW Central Coast and spends his weekends playing at Jui Jitsu, hitting the beach or just relaxing with family and friends.
Karen Crombie
Karen Crombie is the founder of Exact Editing, and honed her eagle eye for detail at Buckingham Palace while working for the Queen and Prince Philip. The role developed her natural knack for eliminating those unnoticed errors; no spelling mistakes are permitted to escape the palace! She has a talent for both the written and spoken word and was previously a teacher of English, Literature, and Speech and Drama.
Karen loves working with new authors and helping them polish their prose to perfection. She has worked in a broad variety of genres, including business books, memoirs, inspirational, kid’s books, poetry, and all kinds of fiction. Her experience with public speaking coaching and speech writing is a natural extension for assisting authors prepare for their book launches and publicity.
Travel is another of Karen’s great passions, especially her six wonderful years in Paris, which included working at the OECD.
www.exactediting.com.au
Laura Piccardi
Laura Piccardi founded Uppy after her business burned down and she burned out. She worked her arse off for years trying to get to the top, but eventually her perfectionism, unrealistic expectations and need to be the best drove her to rock bottom.
Once Laura figured out how to operate differently, she qualified as an executive coach and spent years helping professional women change the way they think and behave, so they too could achieve real success while living more healthy, balanced and enjoyable lives.
Now she’s bringing all that together with her British sense of humour and passion for creative content, to cut through the BS of business, inspire women to walk their own paths, and get some serious stuff done while having fun.
www.uppy.com.au
Julia Newbould
Julia Newbould is the managing editor at Conexus Financial, a specialist, independently owned Australian publishing and events company. Julia looks after the commercial content including conferences, podcasts, roundtables and webinars. She was previously managing editor of Money magazine and the inaugural host of the ‘Friends With Money’ podcast. Prior to this she was editor of Financial Planning and Super Review magazines; managing editor at InvestorInfo and at Morningstar Australia. Julia co-authored The Joy of Money, a book on women and personal finance, which won the 2020 ABBA award for best personal finance and investment book. Julia holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney where she serves on the alumni council.
Lucy Raymond
Lucy started her first editing job on a working holiday in the UK in 1997 and has worked in publishing ever since. After ten years working in educational publishing, Lucy started in a publishing role at John Wiley & Sons in 2010 before becoming the Publishing Manager in 2016. During this time she has published hundreds of books across the imprints Wrightbooks, For Dummies and Wiley to produce everything from picture storybooks, poetry, reference books to travel guides. She specialises in the categories of business and personal development as it is Wiley's mission to help people and organisations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Lucy relishes the opportunity to work with authors right from the very inception of a book idea, through the writing and production process, to publication and beyond. Working across global markets broadens the outlook beyond our shores to New Zealand, Asia, USA, Canada and the UK. Lucy holds postgraduate qualifications in the areas of editing, publishing and education.
Jacki Mitchell
Jacki Mitchell is now spending most of her time as industry expert and Academic Teaching Associate at Monash University Business School, sharing her international award-winning marketing and media expertise and diverse track record with the next gen.
Jacki has worked both client and agency side and has been managing partner of international consultancy brandstorm® for 20 years where she has worked with leading businesses like Toyota, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Australia Post, and Tennis Australia to name just a few.
Jacki has produced and hosted a radio business show and podcast for the past eight years and is a regular on international news services and Sky Business News.
Doyle Buehler
Doyle Buehler runs a strategic digital marketing training organisation creating real-time, connected and adaptive digital challenger brands for the disruptive digital economy.
Doyle is the author of two books on digital strategy, including his latest #Breakthrough, which takes challenger businesses on their business-changing digital expedition. He speaks on and hosts multiple podcasts and livestreams, and he also guides Digital Challenger businesses in navigating and leveraging the disruptive digital economy by showing them how to create certainty, clarity and competency in digital so the world really knows who you are and the impact that you create.
He’s been a judge for many professional events around the world, including the Australian Search Marketing Awards, The Canadian Marketing Association Awards, The Australian Web Industry Association Awards, The Social Media Marketing Institute Awards, The Australian Business Book Awards, Think Global Awards, and others.
Wendy Pavey
Wendy Pavey is a personal brand strategist who works with senior corporate executives to build their brand so they easily attract their roles of choice. She is the Founder and Principal of Executive Brand and creator of the ExecutiveCadence™ storytelling methodology. Wendy is a regular Guest Presenter for The CEO Institute’s Certified Manager Program and CEO syndicates, and is a frequent speaker for executive organisations and professional bodies. She is also a university guest lecturer and student mentor.
Wendy writes a popular weekly blog about executive branding for LinkedIn and is the author of Personal Brand 101 and The C-Suite Guide to LinkedIn, in addition to hosting the upcoming CEO:First Day podcast.
Fiona Killackey
Fiona is a podcaster, award-winning author, speaker, accredited business coach and human trying to navigate life and go to bed feeling like she has done something good that day. With more than two decades of experience working with large and small brands alike (think Amazon and Country Road Group, through to CULTIVER and Collective Closets), Fiona understands what it takes to create a business that is financially secure and emotionally fulfilling.
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