Publishing Ireland, Appoints Peter McKay as President of Publishing Ireland on 28th March 2024
Publishing Ireland, the trade body for the Irish book publishing industry, is delighted to announce Peter McKay as the new president, bringing with him over 41 years of experience in the publishing industry. It is the first time that the organisation is to be led by somebody who is not a current publishing industry executive. Peter has held senior leadership roles in various organisations, including being the Managing Director of Thomas Nelson, one of the largest educational publishers in the UK, which was then part of the Thomson Organisation (later Thomson Reuters). After the sale of Nelson to Kluwer, he joined Derwent Information before establishing his own strategic consultancy in 2004.
Peter played an active role in the UK Publishers Association and chaired their Education Publishers Council. He also represented the organisation at the Federation of European Publishers. He served as the Chief Executive of the Publishing Training Centre and was a member of the Advisory Board of The Literary Consultancy (TLC).
In 2019, Peter became a founding member of Dingle Lit clg, a volunteer organisation that organises the Dingle Literary Festival. He initially served as its Company Secretary and is now its Treasurer. His vast experience, knowledge, and management capabilities will complement our organisation.
Peter McKay, “I am delighted to join the team at Publishing Ireland. My aim is to help the organisation as it strives for a sustainable and inclusive future”. If you wish to contact Peter directly his email is president@publishingireland.com
Outgoing president Ivan O’Brien (O’Brien Press): “Publishing Ireland is very lucky to have someone of Peter’s broad experience as President. In a step-change for the organisation, we advertised the role outside the current industry and were delighted that he was available and willing to take on the role. His experience with the Publishers Training Centre in London is directly relevant to our role in constantly up-skilling the publishing world in Ireland. In a range of publishing roles he has also worked on the international stage with the Federation of European Publishers, while working on a local level with the Dingle Literary Festival means he knows how to make things happen on a local scale. It’s a challenging time for books and culture generally, both nationally and internationally. Peter has got great energy and ideas and we couldn’t be in safer hands. The board is looking forward to supporting him and Orla McLoughlin, the Publishing Ireland Manager, in further developing book publishing, a vital national cultural industry”
Publishing Ireland is a membership organisation with over 65 member companies across the Island of Ireland.
For more information about our board and what we do check out our website www.publishingireland.com
