My obligatory end of year post. I’m a blogger now, so when in e-Rome…
The Australian literary scene is, for now, still quite traditional. Traditional meaning that people still buy books, lit journals continue to appear each quarter, every town worth putting on the map has a writers’ festival and, most importantly, there is still a chance of getting published – all reason enough to smoke from the cigarillo of hope in the new year.
In a year when mainstream publications cutback, stylish new literary journals emerged. Smallroom, dotdotdash Magazine and several other new periodicals were launched this year, while established ones – Meanjin and Overland – digitalised, continued to publish quality literature and contribute to public debate. And remain in publication. I thought literary journals would share the fate of Wite-Out and be left in the twentieth century. Obviously I was wrong, and this gives me hope.
A writer who offered me guidance in the second half of this year got his book accepted for publication – after going to auction, no less. He very much knows what he is doing, knows the industry and deserves the success. Even so, his example goes to show that publishers will still pay good money for a good book.
A fortnight ago, I had a short story accepted for publication and learnt that an article I wrote had been sitting on the shelves for some time. There’s hope for me yet.
Also filling every writer with hope this year was the fact that two short story collections were regularly shortlisted for various Australian book awards. One, Nam Le’s The Boat, regularly won and the other, Tom Cho’s Look Who’s Morphing, was on the unorthodox side. That should give every writer specialising in the short form some hope.
Perhaps I should give evidence for my earlier claim that Australians still buy books. According to the Australian Retailers Association, seventy per cent of Christmas shoppers bought books, preferring them over electronics and everything else. Australians are buying more books than anything, in higher quantities than ever. Basic supply and demand states that publishers will need product to sell to all of these buyers – for aspiring writers, this is only good news.
The Australian book scene remains this way partly due to the fact that ebook readers are not yet widely available – in fact, aside from a basic app for the iPhone, I have never seen one. But even when they are, delivery might change but I predict little else will. The fact will remain that Australians are buying books – lots of them.
And what of e-publishing? Australians historically take quickly to new technology and people don’t walk around with empty iPods, what will they do with an empty ebook reader? Once ebook readers become ubiquitous (The Guardian is sceptical, at least about Amazon’s Kindle), the number of books (hard and soft) sold will only rise.
[Side note: While I feel hardcovers are an outmoded form, and not only because the paperback is congruent to our throw-away society, there is something attractively formal about the embossed lettering on the cover and spine of a hardcover. I also enjoy a hardcover because I can't read it anywhere but in a comfortable chair or in bed - the weight of something important in my lap.]
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: “Hope, they say, deserts us at no period of our existence. From first to last, and in the face of smarting disillusions, we continue to expect good fortune, better health and better conduct; and that so confidently, that we judge needless to deserve them.”
Happy holidays and happy writing.
LI
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2 Comments
I have an adventurous publisher. He has the creativity to imagine audiences for books that, as he puts it, “might not otherwise find publication because of [their] subtle commercial appeal.” Publishing houses like Giramondo give us all hope!
Thanks Tom.
I’m very happy to hear there are still adventurous publishers out there – definitely another reason to give hope to emerging, and established, writers in the New Year.