Executive Director – Gillian Fizet
Gillian Fizet is the Executive Director of Canada FBM2020, the entity responsible for representing the Canadian publishing industry’s presence at Frankfurt Book Fair in 2020 where Canada will be the Guest of Honour. Prior to this, she was Rights Director for House of Anansi and Groundwood Books.
Associate Executive Director – Jennifer-Ann Weir
With her academic background in multimedia communication from the University of San Francisco and in cultural business management from HEC Montréal, Jennifer-Ann brings a wealth of experience: she worked for the Musée McCord; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; the Société du 375e anniversaire de Montréal; the Quartier des spectacles; and most recently, MUTEK. Jennifer-Ann provides overall supervision of the implementation of the literary programming in Germany, the artistic and scenographic direction of the pavilion of honour as well as the strategic direction of public relations.
Associate Director of Operations – Meghan Macdonald
Meghan Macdonald is Associate Director of Operations at Canada FBM2020. Prior to joining the organization, Meghan ran the operation for a $30 million book of business at Edward Jones Investments. Meghan started her career in publishing in the UK in 2008 working for the David Grossman Literary Agency in London, before returning to Canada to work as a literary agent with the Transatlantic Literary Agency.
Content Manager – Isabelle Gauvin
Isabelle Gauvin is the Project Manager of Canada FBM2020. She has previously worked in the bookselling industry as a buyer in literature and fiction books of all genre for Archambault, one of the biggest bookseller chains in Quebec, negotiating, buying and promoting books for the 15 stores.
Project Coordinator – Kirsten Parucha
Kirsten Parucha is the Project Assistant for Canada FBM2020. She returned to Toronto after living in London, England where she worked with scouting and literary agencies in preparation for the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs. She completed the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford University in 2016 and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Journalism from the University of Toronto. Before transitioning to book publishing, Kirsten worked in journalism in Toronto.
Communications Manager – Jacqueline Demendeev
Jacqueline Demendeev is the Communications Manager of Canada FBM. She holds a BA in Media, Information and Technoculture from Western University and a Graduate Certificate in museum studies from Harvard’s Extension School. She was formerly the Director of Communications for the Workforce Planning and Development Board. Her appreciation of the publishing industry comes from her background as an award winning cartoonist and collected artist.