Bridget Williams
Bridget Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2012 | |
| Born | 1948 (age 75–76) |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Known for | founder of independent publishing companies Port Nicholson Press and Bridget Williams Books |
| Relatives | Robin Williams(father) |
Bridget Rosamund WilliamsONZMMBE(born 1948) is a New Zealand publisher and founder of two independent publishing companies: Port Nicholson Press andBridget Williams Books.
Early life and family
[edit]Born in 1948,[1]Williams was the daughter of Mary Williams (née Thorpe) and her husband mathematician and public servantRobin Williams.[2]Williams attendedWellington Girls' College,[3]and, in 1966, moved toDunedinto study an arts degree in English literature at theUniversity of Otago,[4]where her father was appointed vice-chancellor the following year.[2][4]
Career
[edit]Williams' publishing career began when she and her husband were living inOxford,England, while her husband, economist Geoff Bertram, studied for a PhD.[4]Williams found work as a research assistant for ProfessorHelen Gardner,working on editingThe New Oxford Book of English Verse,and for ProfessorRichard Ellmann,a biographer.[4]These connections led on to work as an editor atOxford University Press(OUP).[4][5]
When Williams returned to New Zealand in 1976, she continued to work for OUP, collaborating withW. H. Oliveron theOxford History of New Zealand,the first general history of New Zealand to have been published in over 20 years.[4][5][6]In 1981 Williams left OUP to start her own independent company, Port Nicholson Press,[5]which she founded with Roy Parsons and Lindsey Missen.
Four years later Williams sold the company toAllen & Unwin (Australia)and became managing director of Allen & Unwin (New Zealand).[4]Two of her major projects while at Allen & Unwin went on to win theGoodman Fielder Wattie Book Award:the multi-volumeDictionary of New Zealand Biography;[4]andClaudia Orange'sThe Treaty of Waitangi.[7]
In 1990 she foundedBridget Williams Books,[5]focusing on non-fiction books on New Zealand history, women's history, Māori history and contemporary topics.[6]The company is recognised for making a significant contribution to the body of New Zealand historical work.[4][8]Notable publications includeThe Book of New Zealand Womenand the first general history of Māori,Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History.[3]In 1997,The Story of Suzanne Aubertwon Book of the Year at theMontana New Zealand Book Awards.[9]In 2010,Encircled Lands: Te Urewera 1820–1921won theNZ Post Book of the Year Award.[10]
From 1995 to 1998, Williams published under a joint imprint withAuckland University Press.[11]
Williams has also been active in publishing events and organisations. She was a founding member of the Listener Women's Book Festival, and involved in both the Independent Publishers network and the Publishers' Association of New Zealand.[6]
Recognition
[edit]In 1982, Williams was awarded aWinston Churchill Fellowship.[3]In the1996 New Year Honours,she was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire,for services to book publishing,[12]and in the2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honoursshe was made anOfficer of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to publishing.[13]
References
[edit]- ^"Williams, Bridget Rosamund, 1948–".National Library of New Zealand.Retrieved6 December2015.
- ^ab"NZer who worked on first atomic bomb dies".Radio New Zealand News.18 March 2013.Retrieved6 December2015.
- ^abc"Alumni Reconnect: Bridget Williams, publisher".chamber music blog.30 April 2015.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^abcdefghiTansley, Rebecca (February 2013)."Minding the gap".University of Otago Magazine(34). University of Otago.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^abcdWannan, Olivia (5 July 2012)."Wellingtonian Interview: Bridget Williams".Stuff.co.nz.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^abc"Bridget Williams, Wellington, ONZM, for services to publishing | The Governor-General of New Zealand Te Kawana Tianara o Aotearoa".gg.govt.nz.Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2015.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^"Publisher Profiles 2: Bridget Williams Books, Fiona Kidman".New Zealand Books: A quarterly review.March 1992.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^"Bridget Williams Books Ltd – Publishers Association of New Zealand Inc".Publishers Association of New Zealand Inc.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^"New Zealand Book Council".bookcouncil.org.nz.Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2015.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^Dekker, Diana (28 February 2011)."The life of a publisher".Stuff.co.nz.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^"About BWB | BWB Bridget Williams Books".bwb.co.nz.Retrieved3 December2015.
- ^"No. 54256".The London Gazette(2nd supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 34.
- ^"The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee List Honours 2012".Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. 4 June 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2012.Retrieved5 December2015.