Books are my business: Publishing Ireland manager Orla McLoughlin

Orla McLoughlin: 'It has been great to get to know the publishing business through this role.'

Orla McLoughlin lives in Sligo and is the manager of Publishing Ireland, overseeing and directing the operations of the association. 

Established in 1970, Publishing Ireland is a membership organisation representing book publishers in Ireland.

How did you get into your role?

I have always loved books and reading. My background is in events and tourism; I was working from home, contracting and consulting, and this role came up and I thought this would be my dream job. 

So I was thrilled when I got it. It has been great to get to know the publishing business through this role.

What does your role involve?

I work independently and report directly to the board of Publishing Ireland, which is made up of member publishers; there are currently 10 on the board. 

A lot of what we do is programming, training, and events, including our annual conference, which is a big event in our calendar.

We have 67 members, publishers of all sizes, from small journals up to larger well-known companies.

I would also travel to the book fairs in Frankfurt and London, promoting our publishers to a wider audience. 

Through that, I see what topics and issues are impacting on the publishing industry. I bring that home and I would programme our conference to reflect that. 

We are also members of the European Federation of Publishers so they would lobby on our behalf within Europe. 

Our president Peter McKay would talk to them, representing our needs, interests, and concerns. It is great to be part of that collective.

We hear a lot about how Irish literature is thriving, from a publishing point of view, is the outlook optimistic?

Absolutely. Publishers are very confident in what they are producing. We are punching well above our weight. 

When I travel abroad, people ask me ‘what’s the secret?’ because Ireland seems to be doing so well creatively, on all fronts. 

It is like a circular economy, we are all promoting each other.

What do you like most about what you do?

I love working with publishers, it is a lovely industry to be in as everyone is just passionate about selling books. 

I really enjoy seeing the creative side. I also love programming, seeing what is needed in terms of training, all of that. 

It is great getting feedback from the board on what we need to be doing.

The Arts Council funds part of our programming and it is also fantastic to have their stamp of approval. 

They have funded our new breakthrough award this year, which we introduced to support someone who might not have been able to get into publishing for a variety of reasons. 

The award was given to Róisín Ní Neachtáin who will work with us, attending all our training events, getting work experience with publishers and also attending the London Book Fair.

What do you like least about what you do?

Working remotely can be isolating, I do miss working in an office with a team at times.

Three desert island books

Elizabeth Strout is one of my favourite authors, of her books I would probably choose My Name is Lucy Barton.

I would bring any of her books but for some reason, that one in particular stuck with me.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt would be the next one. It blew me away when I read it. I particularly loved the character of Hobie, who owns the antiques shop.

My final choice would be Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.