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Jul. 21st, 2009 06:07 pmPublishing in Australia is at one of those pivotal moments. It could collapse at the seams if the recommendations of the Productivity Commission are acccepted by Federal Government. Lots of people who love books or are connected to the publishing industry have spoken about it, some well, some brilliantly, all worried.
There's one bogie that no-one I've read has mentioned. Once upon a time (not so long ago) Australia didn't produce many books at all. Australian writers had to be accepted in Britain and fit British needs. Norah of Billabong was a great classic, published in the UK for our delight, and showing the Australia that Britain most enjoyed. Books like this shaped our childhood. They were brought out by the containerload.
As a result of the centre of Australian publishing being outside Australia, many writers and editors ended up in London, in a mammoth brain-drain which only ended very, very recently.
I can see this happening again.
What got us through (mostly) culturally-intact (also mostly) way back when were a couple of publishers. Coles and Angus and Robertson (there were others, but not as important, says my increasingly unreliable memory). I find this funny. Coles is a department store and A&R a bookshop.
It's a complex history, Australia and her books. One thing that's super-clear historically is that we're an exceptionally open society and we're exceptionally vulnerable to being part of someone else's culture. Right now, we're doing rather well (for a change). There is a fabulously vibrant array of writers and readers and publishers and others, all developing and growing and learning and thriving. We're finally looking cultural cringe in the face. It's wonderful to be a part of this thriving.
If the government accepts the Productivity Commission's recommendations and we go back to being an international second-class citizen in terms of literary culture (where the Miles Franklins and Dymphna Cusacks fight against the night), then why don't we go the whole hog? It makes sense. Let's get rid of Federation and become a bunch of States. Let's get rid of that wasteful extra layer of government that costs us such a lot of money and let ourselves back into the British Empire. If it's fine for our cultural fabric to be dictated from afar, then surely it's equally wonderful for our politics and our governance. It would increase productivity, after all, being governed from Britain. Or from the US, if that's more interesting. It's a simple choice: Westminster or White House. The Productivity Commission should look into it.
I should post sensibly on this, I know. Dump the snark and bitterness. There are lots of solid reasons (historical, economic, cultural) for us to not shatter the legislation governing publishing before the total strangeness and irrationalities inherent in some parts of the industry (returns, anyone?) are sorted. Tackling one before the other is putting the cart before the horse and really, it's in no-one's interest.
I'm too angry to be rational. Instead I suggest you start here and read all the links and all the links in the linked articles. Then you should take a deep breath, step back, and make up your own mind.
If you find the Productivity Commission is wrong, then the thing to do is explain this to your MP, to the Minister for Arts, to the Prime Minister. Letters, not emails. To the people themseves, not to the Departments or office-staff. Send the letters now, not next week. Don't get angry - get logical. Enough letters will turn this into a popularity issue and Rudd is facing a much harder election next time. A big groundswell of rationally-expressed ire is the best way to get this idiocy quashed. Backbenchers might not see your website or your letter to the Editor, but they will hear a knock on their door*.
Remember that Coles Funny Picture Book was once a great Australian icon, because there wasn't the industry for thousands of fascinating books. I love and treasure Coles Funny Picture Book: it's a relic of my childhood, after all. It's not Australia, currently. We're not children anymore. We don't need to go back to being a mere reflection.
*knocks on doors are, of course, better than letters. Make appointments with any MP or Senator you have contact with and talk to them sincerely, passionately and rationally. Also give them briefing notes with half-page summaries and simple dot points that are easy to follow.
PS Cat Sparks just alerted me to someone else who remembers Australia's publishing history. Obviously I've been too busy being sick to pay close attention to matters of import.
There's one bogie that no-one I've read has mentioned. Once upon a time (not so long ago) Australia didn't produce many books at all. Australian writers had to be accepted in Britain and fit British needs. Norah of Billabong was a great classic, published in the UK for our delight, and showing the Australia that Britain most enjoyed. Books like this shaped our childhood. They were brought out by the containerload.
As a result of the centre of Australian publishing being outside Australia, many writers and editors ended up in London, in a mammoth brain-drain which only ended very, very recently.
I can see this happening again.
What got us through (mostly) culturally-intact (also mostly) way back when were a couple of publishers. Coles and Angus and Robertson (there were others, but not as important, says my increasingly unreliable memory). I find this funny. Coles is a department store and A&R a bookshop.
It's a complex history, Australia and her books. One thing that's super-clear historically is that we're an exceptionally open society and we're exceptionally vulnerable to being part of someone else's culture. Right now, we're doing rather well (for a change). There is a fabulously vibrant array of writers and readers and publishers and others, all developing and growing and learning and thriving. We're finally looking cultural cringe in the face. It's wonderful to be a part of this thriving.
If the government accepts the Productivity Commission's recommendations and we go back to being an international second-class citizen in terms of literary culture (where the Miles Franklins and Dymphna Cusacks fight against the night), then why don't we go the whole hog? It makes sense. Let's get rid of Federation and become a bunch of States. Let's get rid of that wasteful extra layer of government that costs us such a lot of money and let ourselves back into the British Empire. If it's fine for our cultural fabric to be dictated from afar, then surely it's equally wonderful for our politics and our governance. It would increase productivity, after all, being governed from Britain. Or from the US, if that's more interesting. It's a simple choice: Westminster or White House. The Productivity Commission should look into it.
I should post sensibly on this, I know. Dump the snark and bitterness. There are lots of solid reasons (historical, economic, cultural) for us to not shatter the legislation governing publishing before the total strangeness and irrationalities inherent in some parts of the industry (returns, anyone?) are sorted. Tackling one before the other is putting the cart before the horse and really, it's in no-one's interest.
I'm too angry to be rational. Instead I suggest you start here and read all the links and all the links in the linked articles. Then you should take a deep breath, step back, and make up your own mind.
If you find the Productivity Commission is wrong, then the thing to do is explain this to your MP, to the Minister for Arts, to the Prime Minister. Letters, not emails. To the people themseves, not to the Departments or office-staff. Send the letters now, not next week. Don't get angry - get logical. Enough letters will turn this into a popularity issue and Rudd is facing a much harder election next time. A big groundswell of rationally-expressed ire is the best way to get this idiocy quashed. Backbenchers might not see your website or your letter to the Editor, but they will hear a knock on their door*.
Remember that Coles Funny Picture Book was once a great Australian icon, because there wasn't the industry for thousands of fascinating books. I love and treasure Coles Funny Picture Book: it's a relic of my childhood, after all. It's not Australia, currently. We're not children anymore. We don't need to go back to being a mere reflection.
*knocks on doors are, of course, better than letters. Make appointments with any MP or Senator you have contact with and talk to them sincerely, passionately and rationally. Also give them briefing notes with half-page summaries and simple dot points that are easy to follow.
PS Cat Sparks just alerted me to someone else who remembers Australia's publishing history. Obviously I've been too busy being sick to pay close attention to matters of import.