Madonna Duffy appointed as Director of UQP

After a competitive national recruitment process, The University of Queensland has appointed Madonna Duffy as the new Director of UQP, and she will officially commence in this role on 1 December.

Duffy worked at Penguin Books in London and Pan Macmillan in Sydney before joining UQP in 2002, where she has most recently served as Publishing Director and Acting Director.

Professor Heather Zwicker, Chair of the UQP Board and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Queensland is delighted with this appointment and inspired by Duffy’s ambition for the organisation.

‘She has such a strong vision for UQP that combines consolidation with innovation, deepens the organisation’s tradition of author-centred care, and focuses on reaching more readers in more ways,’ said Zwicker.

Duffy has published award-winning writers such as Melissa Lucashenko, David Malouf, Larissa Behrendt and Matthew Condon in her time at UQP, and spearheaded initiatives such as the UQP Mentorship Prize for Under-represented Writers, which is in its inaugural year. She is excited to take this next step in her career.

‘I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved so far at UQP,’ says Duffy. ‘I’ve had the honour of working with so many of Australia’s greatest writers and will continue to support their success, but the opportunity to lead the business through its next stage — as it celebrates its milestone 80th anniversary in 2028 — was irresistible.’

Duffy will begin the recruitment process for a new Publishing Director before the end of the year.

For more information, contact UQP Marketing & Publicity Manager Jean Smith on jean.smith@uqp.com.au.