Following several posts from Call My Agent, the blog of a Sydney Literary Agent (aka Agent Sydney), there’s been a lot of talk recently on the status of Australian fiction. Do Australian readers read Australian authors? Why or why not? Should we be reading more?
Agent Sydney cites a number of reasons behind the decline in Australian readership: competitive overseas pricing and international marketplace, Australia’s literary niche and genre fiction readers shifting to international authors to find books in their preferred genre. Access to news of new releases in Australian fiction also, for how can you buy a title if you do not know it exists?
As Agent Sydeny summarises in her blog:
the loop-de-loop, in short, looks like this – no genre fiction published = no genre fiction bought = no incentive to publishers to publish it = no genre fiction published.
In a vox pop on Champagne and Socks, written by Twelfth Planet Press’ Alisa Krasnostein, Alisa put one question to her readers:
When was the last time you bought and Australian novel?
In the comments that followed, several titles came up multiple times:
Reign of Beasts by Tansy Rayner Roberts (Feb 2012)
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (Feb 2012)
Debris by Jo Anderton (Oct 2011)
The Last Stormlord by Glenda Lark (Sept 2011)
Courier’s New Bicycle by Kim Westwood (Aug 2011)
Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan (March 2011)
It is wonderfully refreshing to see that all of these titles are recent, some as recent as last month. Though many people were left scratching their heads as to when and how often they do buy Aussie novels.
While one poll is not going to give any steadfast ‘this is how it is’ result, it does show some signs that the Australian speculative fiction market, at least, is alive and kicking.
– Nikky
New blog post: Book Poll: What was the last Australian novel you bought? http://t.co/liQ4IT4b
it was peter carey’s book.
Yep, the Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey.
actually, in the same purchase i think i picked up adelaide by kerry goldsworthy. unsw press has been doing these cool small volumes on cities throughout australia. sweet books.
It was a Garth Nix book, but I don’t recall which one.
When as well as what?
I am ashamed to say, I don’t think I have ever bought a book by an Australian writer. Who do you think is most famous in the US?
in genre work, or in general? in a general fashion as a novelist, peter carey is probably the most famous export.
Sea Heart (Margo Lanagan) and Reign of
Beasts (Tansy Rayner Roberts) bought at the same time.
Hmm. Think it was shortly after Nix was GoH at World Fantasy, so that would be end of 2009 or begining of 2010.
last week: Kerry Greenwood Phryne Fisher, Amanda Curtin Inherited (do yourself a favour and get this one)
Something by Garry Disher.
Penni Russon, Only Ever Always.
The Children of the King, Sonya Hartnett. Bought it on Friday.
Possibly Somebody’s Crying by Mareen McCarthy a couple of years ago. I would have bought the Sonya Hartnett a few days ago if Jonathan Strahan hadn’t seen it first. That true for quite a few other books too. If he buys them I don’t have to.
Can’t remember title or author just now, but it would’ve been bought at Conflux last year.
Tim Winton Cloudstreet mid last year, and Tim Flannery Here on Earth around the same time.
Oh, hang on -much more recent than Conflux would be a few weekends ago: Kerry Greenwood’s ‘Away with the Fairies’[a Phryne Fisher case] and a new autobiography, ‘Journey of Hope’, by Dr J. Michael Davey -signed by author during his bookshop visit.
AFTER THE DARKNESS by Honey Brown. (I think. It’s a bit hard to keep track.)
RT @12thPlanetPress: New blog post: Book Poll: What was the last Australian novel you bought? http://t.co/liQ4IT4b
I bought three of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher books to read while travelling. And yes, I loved them before the TV series
And just before that, Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan. I bought the UK edition, though, under the title The Brides of Rollrock Island.
I think it was Katherine Howell’s COLD JUSTICE.
(Last month.) But now I’m gonna join a library & save some money. So, pls don’t ask this question again.
Online it was “Chaos Space” by Marianne de Pierres.
My last in-a-bookshop purchase was in January and it was “The Courier’s New Bicycle”.