An Australian book industry: What is it and what does it do? Who benefits?
Session 2
Recent signs indicate a welcome upturn in the fortunes of the Australian book industry. Dollars and sales have increased, and ebooks represent a larger proportion of total book sales than they did five years ago. But what are authors getting out of recent developments? Is “the market” all that authors need? How are publishers adjusting to the digital shift and its effect on their operations? Session includes updates from cultural agencies and political representatives.
Part A: Building an industry that supports authors
Moderator: Angelo Loukakis
Panel: Adam Bandt, David Day, Mark Dreyfus, Kate Larsen
How are we doing when bookshops are closing, there’s pressure to reduce the cost of books but book sales are increasing? There are fewer editors on staff, there are cut backs in staff and selling books overseas and reduced payment to creators.
The ASA wanted an advocacy group independent of the govt who could speak to the imp of books, reading, paying for content against the idea that content (books) should be free. Instead we have Book Council created by Aust Govt. who will propose how money will be spent and approved by the Book Council. ASA is reconsidering their reaction to this (which again may change with the new Minister for the Arts)
There is generally a very healthy book landscape but many content creators not being paid properly. This was a big theme at the congress.
Reading is the main way Australians engage with the arts…but on more modern forms. There is a danger of newbies offering their work for free…which devalues what we do. We need to stand up for each other and be clear about exploitation and underpayment. We need to share all we know.
The Abbott govt took $6 million from the ASA and $107 million from the Australia Council for the Arts which will mainly affect diverse writers and communities.
Adam Bandt spoke to the current govt’s changes to arts funding being a privatization of the arts being for organisations rich enough to apply. He warned of the lack of support for writers, increased difficulty in making money as creators and lack of diversity. Wants to make prizes tax free and make creative activity relevant to the receiving the dole. This was warmly received.
Part B: Improving the numbers, broadening readerships
Moderator: Jill Eddington
Panel: Kate Forsyth, Alice Grundy, Amelia Lush, Susan Hawthorne
Kate began with a story of writers in heaven and hell being lashed to typewriters and the only difference between the two is that the writers in heaven are paid. With all the changes, Kate Forsyth declares that she still wants to be read and tell her story in the very best way she can. The aim of reading is to share, connect, communicate, move and be moved. Slow starvation of our culture is the result of not supporting writing and writers. When it is devalued, we devalue what makes us human. Go Kate!!
Susan Hawthorne said that there is a difference between Sales and Marketing department…Sales wanted to know how a new book was the same as successful books out there and Editorial wanted to know how is this different. Tricky!
Amelia Lush from Better Read Than Dead was so optimistic! She is selling more Aust content than ever and children‘s sales are through the roof. Reading trends can create new readers….which is good and she has no problem forcing other books on new readers. We need strategic, deliberate choices to encourage a reading of local authors, which is against the bigger mainstream well-funded overseas books. She is very concerned about the current govt’s moves against supporting writers and writing. Booksellers are giving loads of support to Australian authors and publishers are responding. There is a strong readership for Australian books. Yay!
Alice Grundy spoke about her excitement about the publication of the diversity of voices and short story collections and this, in part, has been because of literary journals. Proliferation of lit festivals also means there is a way of creating audiences and revealing new voices.
