Callil, Carmen (1938—)
Callil, Carmen (1938—)
Australian publisher. Born in Melbourne in 1938; attended Melbourne University.
Carmen Callil was the founder of Virago Press, a publishing house dedicated to the publication of women writers. She was born in Melbourne in 1938 and attended Melbourne University before settling in England in her mid-20s (1963). A position as a buyer's assistant at Marks and Spencer preceded her entry into the publishing world. After working for several firms, including Hutchinson, Batsford, and Andrew Deutsch, she founded her own company, Callil Book Publicity, in 1972. The same year, she founded Virago Press. Virago's most successful line, Modern Classics—"dedicated to the celebration of women writers and to the discovery and reprinting of their works"—was begun in 1978 and initially focused on English authors including Emily Eden, Antonia White , and Margaret Kennedy ; the list later widened to encompass works from various countries and time periods. Callil served on the Board of Directors for Britain's Channel 4 and was managing director of Hogarth Press and Chatto and Windus.