Stephen Barr, President of SAGE International, has been elected as the new President of The Publishers Association. Stephen succeeds Joanna Prior, Managing Director of Penguin General Books, who remains as an officer on PA Council.

Commenting, Stephen said:

“The Publishers Association plays an essential role as the collective voice for the publishing community in the UK, at a time when that voice is needed more than ever before. During my term as President of The PA, I hope to support the association’s skilled and expert team in continuing to make the case for publishing as an innovative and dynamically changing industry which makes a vital contribution to the UK’s culture, society and economy.

“The UK publishing industry, as reported by The PA last week, is in good health with growing revenues of £4.4bn, 42% coming from exports. Publishing is a longstanding UK success story, and UK authors and publishers have a global reach. Publishing has changed dramatically over the last decade to become a dynamic space in which traditional business models are combined with ebooks, websites, online communities and new digital publishing models in a diverse and rapidly changing environment.

“There remain important challenges to address: defending copyright as the key to building a sustainable infrastructure to support quality publishing; telling the story of publishing to a wider audience; and supporting the publishing industry in working to broaden the range of applicants to publishing careers and enhance the diversity of the publishing workforce. I look forward to working with the PA executive team and colleagues in the industry in pursuing these goals.”

The PA’s AGM, which took place today (Wednesday 18th May 2016) at the Institute for Contemporary Arts, also saw Lis Tribe, Managing Director Hodder Education, elected as Vice President.

In addition, the following changes to the chairmanship of PA boards were announced:

· Alicia Wise of Elsevier has been appointed Chair of the newly renamed Academic, Professional and Learning Publishers Council.

· William Bowes of Cambridge University Press has been appointed Chair of the International Board.