Representations of literary publicists in popular culture have long reinforced tainted perceptions of the profession. Everyone remembers Bridget Jones – who is portrayed in the books and movies as incompetent and constantly objectified by senior male colleagues. Expectations and responsibilities about the role are muddied and outdated.
She started by quoting Australian author, Richard Flanagan, who described the literary publicist as, ‘a job for starry-eyed beginners before they get wise and weary of what is seen as [not] much more than an absurd, untargeted form of telemarketer’.
