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<\/p>\nDespite the gloom, there\u2019s no keeping the new kids down. They see their role not as competing with the big five but more as offering something special that can\u2019t be found elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Perentie Press will encourage illustrators to write stories and will aim to discover new graphic novel writers through the Perentie Prize, which offers the winner a publishing contract and a $2500 advance. It plans to release some short graphic novels aimed at five- to eight-year-olds, and a young adult graphic novel, The Curator by Wendy Tyrer, with a highly appropriate theme: it\u2019s about a paradise offered to young artists and creators to do their own thing \u2026 but they must give up everything else.<\/p>\n
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Adam Ouston has launched Evercreech Editions, which seeks to publish \u201cthe out-of-step, the weird, the boldly defiant\u201d.Credit: <\/p>\n
This year author, editor and writing teacher Adam Ouston has launched Evercreech Editions<\/a>, a Tasmania-based press dedicated to \u201cthe out-of-step, the weird, the boldly defiant\u201d. His press has grown organically out of conversations in the reading and writing community, where people were dissatisfied with \u201cthe narrow scope and opportunities for new, interesting writing\u201d. He\u2019s a huge fan of writing \u201cthat is often called difficult because it asks a reader to concentrate and think\u201d.<\/p>\n First book off the press is a debut novel, My Heart at Evening by Konrad Muller, which deals with the suicide of Henry Hellyer, who had to face rumours about his sexuality in 1832 Tasmania, a very male-dominated part of the world. Muller was insistent that his book should only be published by a small press. Other books in the pipeline are an essay collection by an emerging Tasmanian author, a revival of a lost classic, and a Spanish novella in translation. \u201cAustralian readers are spoken down to a bit,\u201d Ouston says. \u201cPeople are crying out for more interesting, stimulating types of writing.\u201d<\/p>\n Another launch this year is Pink Shorts Press<\/a>. Founders Margot Lloyd and Emily Hart have worked for more than a decade in publishing around the country but longed to move back to Adelaide and work with the local literary community. \u201cThen one publisher came out with this statement about how they\u2019d discovered South Australian authors,\u201d Lloyd says, \u201cand we pretty much threw up our hands and decided we had to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n They aim to release two batches of books every year. Current releases include Alex Cothren\u2019s satirical short-story collection Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere and Olivia De Zilva\u2019s Plastic Budgie, a comic experimental take on autofiction. They are looking for \u201coffbeat fiction, on the shorter side, perhaps with a genre crossover\u201d. Another project is republishing the work of the late South Australian artist and writer Barbara Hanrahan, to introduce her to a new generation of readers.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n In her work as an editor for the larger publishers, Ginny Grant noticed many books were trend-driven and celebrity-led: \u201cI began to wonder about the quieter authors, the ones who didn\u2019t have prominent public profiles and huge social-media followings.\u201d So she has launched Bakers Lane Books<\/a>, to discover titles that would not otherwise find a place in a competitive market.<\/p>\n She aims to publish about five titles a year for the next three years. The first will be a literary debut novel, The One Remaining by Paula McLean, \u201ca poignant exploration of grief, identity and the power of storytelling\u201d. She\u2019s also publishing a social history of Broken Hill, The Town Like No Other, by Paula\u2019s husband Robert McLean.<\/p>\n Grant aims to encourage more women writers with the imprint Fearless Press, and the Fearless Prize, which will offer $10,000 for an original work of fiction by a debut woman novelist. Although women writers get more support these days through initiatives like the Stella Prize, she feels that first step of getting a debut novel published needs more attention. \u201cIt\u2019s such a vulnerable point in a writer\u2019s journey, and a little support can make all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n How can the new players fund such risky endeavours? They aren\u2019t applying for grants. Ouston has a \u201cgenerous and silent benefactor\u201d. The Pink Shorts Press founders will use their own savings. Grant is self-funding. Stephens says Perentie Press will operate on \u201ca lot of enthusiasm, a little bit of seed funding, and hopefully it will fund itself\u201d. She should know: she started the children\u2019s book publisher Wombat Books 20 years ago \u201cwith pretty much nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n What will help are distribution deals with larger publishers, and strong ties to a supportive local community. Authors shouldn\u2019t expect big advances but the publishers promise a great deal of individual care and attention that can only come with a small list.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s one thing the new independents would love, it would be some surefire way to get their books noticed. \u201cReaching readers today is a big question, especially when mainstream traditional arts media is sadly disappearing,\u201d says Lloyd.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of amazing books out there but people don\u2019t get to see them,\u201d says Stephens. \u201cAnd they don\u2019t go looking outside of what they do see.\u201d<\/p>\n