February 25, 2014
Bruce Westwood is delighted to announce several changes taking place at Westwood Creative Artists.
Jackie Kaiser has been appointed to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of Westwood Creative Artists, effective immediately. Jackie became a literary agent at Westwood Creative Artists in October 2000 following a decade at Penguin Books where she was Executive Editor. Her instincts, passion, work ethic, and above all her devotion to her writers have led to a distinguished career in Canadian book publishing that spans 30 years. She has spoken about editing, agenting and publishing at the Adelaide Festival of Writers and various universities in Canada. The writers she has nurtured have topped bestseller lists, been published in dozens of countries around the world, and won numerous awards including The Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Trillium Book Prize, the Hilary Weston Writers Trust Prize for Non-fiction, the RBC Taylor Prize, the Edna Staebler Award, and Marian Engel Award, and the BC National Prize for Nonfiction.
Hilary McMahon has been appointed to Executive Vice President of Westwood Creative Artists. Hilary joined Westwood Creative Artists in 1995 after earning a double major in journalism and English and working in public relations and the magazine industry. She spent a number of years as Bruce Westwood’s assistant before taking on her own clients, and was recognized early in her career in Quill & Quire’s “Ones to Watch” feature. She now represents a list of acclaimed, bestselling and prize-winning writers across diverse genres. She is particularly proud of her longstanding relationships with writers who came to her with unsolicited manuscripts, and have now enjoyed significant success in Canada, the US, and abroad. Her sensitivity, tenacity, intelligence and optimism are appreciated by clients, publishers, and colleagues alike. In addition to her responsibilities as an agent, Hilary is in charge of human resources at the agency and enjoys mentoring junior colleagues.
Jackie Kaiser and Hilary McMahon are both shareholders in Westwood Creative Artists.
Westwood Creative Artists was founded in 1995 by Bruce Westwood. With a client roster that boasts more than 400 authors, it is Canada’s largest literary agency, representing award-winning literary fiction, quality commercial fiction including mysteries and thrillers, critically acclaimed non-fiction in the areas of memoir, history, biography, science, journalism and current events, a select range of practical non-fiction, and choice titles for children and young adults.
Bruce Westwood will continue to act as Managing Director and CEO of the agency. Michael A. Levine will continue in his role as Chairman of Westwood Creative Artists.