Small publishers produce twice as much ‘Australian literature’ as the major publishers

A new paper, ‘Small Publishers and the Emerging Network of Australian Literary Prosumption’, in the Australian Humanities Review, by former Small Press Network president Emmett Stinson, has found that ‘large publishers are no longer the primary mediators of Australian literature’.

Stinson’s survey of 2012 titles demonstrates that small publishers UQP, Puncher & Wattman, Giramondo, UWA Publishing, Transit Lounge, Fremantle Press, Text Publishing and Scribe had ‘more than double the output of the seven major houses’ when it came to literary fiction and poetry.

‘The small press’ output of book-length literary publishing is complemented by an active literary journal sector, which occurs almost entirely outside of the auspices of large publishers and typically provides new and emerging authors with their first opportunity for publication,’ writes Stinson.

Read the full paper online here.