Catherine Milne on the secret life of publishing, hunting out books that matter and going from reading the slush pile to head of fiction at Harper Collins.

Featuring: novels that make her cry, how to get through acquisitions, the joyous dance of editing and publishing books that have the rare combination of being both commercial and literary. Catherine has worked in publishing for many years, including with Penguin Books, Pan Macmillan, Allen & Unwin, and since 2012, with HarperCollins, where she is Head of Fiction. She has an eclectic list, publishing across fiction and non-fiction. Recent standouts include Julia Baird’s bestselling 'Phosphorescence'; Vicki Laveau-Harvie’s Stella Prize-winning memoir 'The Erratics'; Catherine McKinnon’s Miles Franklin-shortlisted 'Storyland'; Stan Grant’s acclaimed 'Talking to My Country'; and Trent Dalton’s phenomenal 'Boy Swallows Universe'. Her rule of thumb in publishing is that a book has got to make her feel something – she wants to feel passionately invested in everything she publishes. It’s all about heart, soul, meaning and joy.