The Team

Sophie Masson
President
Born in Indonesia of French parents, who are themselves of mixed ethnicity: Basque, Spanish, Portuguese and French-Canadian as well as French, Dr Sophie Masson AM was brought up in France and Australia and now lives in regional NSW. 

Sophie is the award-winning author of over 70 books, for children, young adults and adults, many of which have been published internationally. She is also a founding partner and publishing director of acclaimed small publisher, Christmas Press, which celebrates its 10^th anniversary in 2023. 

Sophie holds a PhD in Creative Practice from the University of New England and in 2019 she received an AM award in the Order of Australia honours list for her significant service to literature. 

A former Chair of the ASA, Sophie is the current Chair of the New England Writers’ Centre and current President of the Small Press Network.  

Marshall Vann
Treasurer
Marshall is a Chartered Accountant with extensive business experience in public and private companies.  He is an avid reader over a wide variety of genres.

Anna Solding
Board Member

Jess Gately
Board Member
Jess Gately is a freelance publishing professional based in Perth, Western Australia. She is a tutor in the Professional Writing and Publishing program at Curtin University, the President of Editors WA (a branch of the Institute of Professional Editors), and works with a variety of arts organisations and publishers to bring their projects to life. Jess is passionate about literature and the power of words to understand the present and shape the future. 

Rachel Bin Salleh
Board Member
Rachel Bin Salleh is descended from the Nimunburr and Yawuru peoples of the Kimberley region of WA. Rachel is passionate about Indigenous people telling their stories and started her career in publishing at Magabala Books in the 1990s.

Emily Riches
Board Member
Emily Riches is a writer and editor based in Sydney, NSW. She founded independent literary publisher Aniko Press in 2020 and publishes a print literary magazine featuring poetry, short stories and creative nonfiction. Emily aims to bring passionate writers and curious readers together, and champion emerging and experimental voices.

Katherine Day
Board Member
Katherine Day is a Lecturer in Publishing Practice in the School of Culture and Communication at Melbourne University. Her research focuses on the intersection between publishing, law and policy—how author–publisher relationships are negotiated post contract and the incidence and impact of editorial mediation of texts both in print and online. Before becoming an academic, Katherine worked as an in-house editor at Penguin Books and then worked freelance for PRH, Allen & Unwin, Thames and Hudson, Rockpool Publishing, UQP and Working Title Press.

Sarah Cannon
Board Member
Coming from a long line of writers, journalists and editors Sarah could hardly avoid ending up in the publishing industry. After studying Arts and Sciences at Monash University, Sarah worked in various roles including on the Tote at the horse races, and running a bookshop, until she landed her first publishing role at DW Thorpe. After returning from travelling and living in a village in Crete, she went on to work at Cambridge University Press as Senior Marketing Manager. Sarah has worked at Monash University Publishing since its inception in 2004 and is currently Senior Marketing Coordinator.

Rowena Beresford
Board Member
Rowena is the Managing Director of Riveted Press (publisher of the 2021 CBCA award-winning book, Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon). She has 20 years of experience in publishing and particularly enjoys working with debut and emerging authors. Rowena also founded The Book Curator magazine, which provides school librarians with reader advisory services, author interviews and much more.