Eastbourne Sisters Enjoy Giltedge Success

Eastbourne (Wellington) Giltedge Publishing directors and sisters Ann Husmann and Kate McFlinn have publishing in their blood, writes Jazial Crossley in the Dominion Post. Their father, Gil McGhee, published primary school children’s books for many years. When he retired, he helped the sisters set up their own company specialising in publishing children’s books. Giltedge has now published more than 500 titles, sold in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom, Crossley writes. Most are books promoting literacy across all ages and levels of learning by teaching phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary development and visual discrimination skills. What publishers do is basically facilitating the creation of a book. We work with educational consultants and literacy consultants to come up with a concept, hire writers and illustrators, liaise with printers and organise selling and shipping the books. We pay for everything,’ McFlinn told the Dominion Post. Giltedge has worked with the National Geographic Society to produce a series of non-fiction books teaching comprehension skills and higher-order thinking strategies. Its other educational books are based on the New Zealand curriculum focusing on core concepts in social studies, maths and technology. Giltedge also publishes visual arts resources to help primary school teachers with processes used in visual arts. ‘For us, it’s very creative. It’s really a lot of fun,’ Husmann told the Dominion Post.