Mary Egan, the country's most prolific book designer, is now a published author as well.

Over the last 10 years alone, of her 21 years in the business, Mary has designed more than 500 books. These days her growing team of designers is taking on more of that work while Mary functions as the Operations Director and overall design arbiter of Pindar NZ.

The change in emphasis has given Mary the opportunity to explore other interests, amongst which is pets. Mary and Gerard Reid brokered an arrangement between Penguin Books and the SPCA for Penguin to publish titles under the SPCA imprint. With her usual energy and imagination, Mary promptly started thinking up titles and now has her own first one published. Expect to see The Dog Owner's Manual in all bookshops soon.

The Dog Owner's Manual is, in Mary's words, "a Plunket book for dogs". Not only covering the essentials of dog health it includes regulations about dog ownership, tips for young owners, a photo album and much more.

Mary has just delivered her second manuscript to Penguin, so expect to see more from her in the future.