Pilyara Press comprises a small team of talented professionals with a wide range of skills and experience. It plans to expand its network in the future.
Scroll down to meet the team.
PUBLISHER
Bestselling Aussie author Jennifer Scoullar writes page-turning fiction about the land, people and wildlife that she loves. Jennifer is a lapsed lawyer who harbours a deep appreciation and respect for the natural world.
Jennifer is the font of all publishing knowledge. A former lawyer, Jen is a rocket when it comes to delivering on the technicalities of book production.
PROJECT MANAGER
Kate Belle is a lover: of words, people, life and coffee. Her quest to understand love, in all its darkness and light, leads her to ask readers some tough questions. She writes to connect – to you, to herself and to the mess of dots that make up the universe. The kitchen is her favourite dance floor.
Kate is our engine. She keeps us focused and helps direct the juggernaut that is Pilyara Press, balancing ruthless determination with infectious enthusiasm.
COPY EDITOR | PROOFREADER
Monique Mulligan is an author and interviewer. A former journalist, news editor, and publisher, she works in marketing and writes in the gaps of life. Her first two novels Wherever You Go and Wildflower were published by Pilyara Press, but in 2023 were acquired by Bloodhound Books.
Monique is a diplomat. She points out proofreading and copy-editing issues in a nice way, but “gives it straight” when required.
PROOFREADER
Desney King is a retired book editor and survivor of multiple strokes. She writes about love, death, grief, rivers, interconnectedness and living life to the full. A passionate activist, she also relishes outings in her wheelchair, time spent in nature, the exhilaration and deep satisfaction of writing – and time spent with her young adult children.
Desney is the pedant and editorial mentor. She has decades of traditional publishing experience, and an arcane fascination with style sheets, stylistic consistency, typography and beautifully produced books.
FORMATTING
Jenn J. McLeod is a mentor and Australia’s nomadic novelist. Touring since 2014 in her caravan (Myrtle the Turtle) Jenn speaks at regional libraries to inspire others, while also finding inspiration for her contemporary stories with a backdrop of country life. Five-times published with Simon & Schuster and the UK’s Head of Zeus—and with her sixth novel successfully published under the Wild Myrtle Press imprint—she’s found, in Pilyara Press, like-minded authors who share her belief that writers need to respect readers by delivering quality storytelling.
Jenn is Pilyara Press’s self-proclaimed Formatting Fusspot and Pom-pom Girl who loves cheering in rhyme. Her mantra is: “She maybe be here, she may be there, but wherever she is, Jenn will care.”
PUBLICITY | SOCIAL MEDIA
Olwyn Conrau is an award-winning writer, visual artist and author of the autobiographical novel, The Importance of Being Cool which will be re-released in the near future. She is a fiction writer who leans towards gritty realism. In a previous life she was a gogo dancer, public relations guru and journalist who came to her senses after too many long, boozy lunches. And yes, she still holds the record for the world’s longest lunch break.
Olwyn spends most of her life on Facebook so helps out with Pilyara’s social media as well as promotions and traditional media.
EDITING/MENTOR
Shelley Kenigsberg has been in publishing as editor and publisher for over 35 years and was head of Macleay College’s Editing and Publishing Diploma for 24 years. She has taught editing and writing in Bali, Singapore and Australia. In 2009, her writing/editing retreats — Editing in Paradise — began. Now, though the paradisal settings are mere imagination, the joy of creating with a community of writers still happens via Writers’ Salons and Writing in Paradise online.
Shelley is the industry veteran and festival guru. She is inspired by the power of stories beautifully told, to help us recognise ourselves, move us, change us, entertain and inform us and help us see our lives in new ways. Her memoir is on its way.
BETA READER | COPY EDITOR
Lily Malone might have been a painter, except her year-old son put a golf club through her canvas. So she wrote her first book instead.
Lily’s debut trade paperback, The Vineyard In The Hills was published by Harlequin MIRA in September 2016. Since then she has written the best-selling Australian rural romance series: The Chalk Hill Series, set in the Porongurup and Albany regions of Western Australia. Her newest book in Chalk Hill releases in April 2022.
When she isn’t writing, Lily likes gardening, walking, wine, and walking in gardens (sometimes with wine). She lives in the Margaret River region of Western Australia with her husband, and two handsome sons who take after their father.
BETA READER / EDITOR
Marcia Batton lives on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia with her husband, two dogs and a cat. She spent 27 years in the Commonwealth Public Sector and has a Master of Policy and Administration from Flinders University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants (FIPA).
A stickler for authors getting their facts right, she set up a proofreading and editing business after retiring. She is currently working on her first book.
MEDIA MANAGER
Greg Shoemark is a writer and PR professional who is devoted to earning Pilyara Press a profile in keeping with our great work, not just our small size. He is also our “car guy” who picks up on any automotive improbabilities while enthusiastically critiquing our manuscripts.