News, Advice & Skill-Sharing
Keep up to date with the latest news, opportunities and expert perspectives through SPN’s discussion groups, emails, and networking events.
Documents & Resources
Get access to documents that help you as a writer or publisher, including the ASA Model Publishing Agreement for Full Members.
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Welcome to SPN
Small publishers: a vital component of Australian literary culture
Australia’s small publishers produce award-winning fiction, critical non-fiction, acclaimed journals and magazines, and serve as the launching pad for some of our favourite authors.
Booksellers, librarians and readers: find out what’s new from Australian small and indie publishers!
Awards
SPN Book of the Year Award
Uncovering and celebrating the hidden gems of Australian publishing.
Sponsored by BookPeople and Ingram. The Small Press Network (SPN) is excited to announce the winner of the 2022 Small Press Network Book of the Year Award (BOTY): Gravidity and Parity by Eleanor Jackson, published by Vagabond Press. The award was presented at the Wheeler Centre as part of its Next Big Thing series by […]
The Shortlist Find out more about this year's award
Upcoming SPN Events
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News
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Kavita Bedford
We had the most exciting opportunity to sit down with Kavita Bedford to ask about her debut novel, Friends & Dark Shapes, one of the shortlisted titles for the 2022 SPN Book of the Year Award.
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Anwen Crawford
No Document (Giramondo) is a grief-stricken book that tries to locate presence within the material layers of loss, finding hope in art, kinship and collective action. Anwen Crawford balances the emotional charge of the book with thoughtful experiments in how to use the field of the page to express and contain the way grief can […]
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Eleanor Jackson
Gravidity and Parity (Vagabond Press) is a poignant and intricate collection of poetry that guides the reader into the journey of motherhood, pulling no punches in how it addresses and details all that is often unsaid or unknown about pregnancy. The book is set during the COVID pandemic, and author Eleanor Jackson beautifully encapsulates this all-too-familiar […]
Podcast & Audio
Judging the Book of the Year Award
In this episode of the Small Press Network’s Podcast, we had a chat to the Book of the Year Judges Penni Russon, Marina Sano and Jing Xuan Teo to discuss their experience of judging the award. The winner of the Book of the Year Award will be announced on Friday 26 November.
The 2021 Academic Day: In Conversation with Alexandra Dane and Claire Parnell
In this episode, we chat to Alexandra Dane and Claire Parnell to discuss this year’s Academic Day for the Independent Publishing Conference 2021. This year’s theme is Publishing and the Environment.
In Conversation with Robbie Egan
In the lead up to this year’s Love Your Bookshop Day, Associate Producer Chloe Agius sat down with Robbie Egan, CEO of the Australian Booksellers Association, to talk all things bookshops.
Members Only
Templates & Fact Sheets
Guidelines for ethical publishing of Indigenous authors and stories
The following sets of guidelines from the Australia Council and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) outline key considerations in the ethical publishing of Indigenous Australian writers: Protocols for producing Indigenous Australian writing (Australia Council) Guidelines for the ethical publishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and research from […]
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SPN publishing terms glossary
Commonly used acronyms and terms of the book industry Acknowledgement/sources: Publish It! (Thorpe-Bowker), Style Manual (Wiley), Australian Booksellers Association, Australian Publishers Association, Australian Copyright Council, American Publishers Association, student research/contribution. Additional contributions are welcomed. Not to be reproduced without written permission
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Fact sheet: Print on demand, ebooks and distribution through Ingram
IngramSpark is the eBook publishing, print on demand and distribution service from Ingram, combining all these services into one simple platform. Here is some more information about what IngramSpark can offer SPN members.
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Fact sheet: Working with libraries
This fact sheet has been put together by the Australian Libraries and Information Association which is the national professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector.
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Members Only
Member Benefits
Member benefit: Independent Publishing Conference ticket discounts
SPN has run Australia’s only comprehensive book industry conference every year since 2012. SPN members receive deep discounts on tickets and are actively encouraged to participate in the conference. Find out more here.
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Member benefit: B+P Book Buzz discount
B+P BookBuzz SPN regularly works with Books+Publishing to create SPN-branded editions of B+P’s BookBuzz e-newsletter at an affordable price. BookBuzz is read by over 5000 people across the book trade: booksellers, reviewers, librarians, journalists, social media influencers, keen readers, etc.
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Member benefit: Books from Australia listings
SPN members can apply for access to list titles on the Books from Australia site.
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Content collection:
Book of the Year Award
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Kavita Bedford
We had the most exciting opportunity to sit down with Kavita Bedford to ask about her debut novel, Friends & Dark Shapes, one of the shortlisted titles for the 2022 SPN Book of the Year Award.
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Eleanor Jackson
Gravidity and Parity (Vagabond Press) is a poignant and intricate collection of poetry that guides the reader into the journey of motherhood, pulling no punches in how it addresses and details all that is often unsaid or unknown about pregnancy. The book is set during the COVID pandemic, and author Eleanor Jackson beautifully encapsulates this all-too-familiar […]
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author Poppy Nwosu
‘Hometown Haunts (Wakefield Press) showcases some of the best voices Australian YA fiction has to offer in this sometimes strange, sometimes terrifying collection of short horror. This anthology acts as a reminder of how it feels to explore the unknown: unknown genre, unknown worlds, unknown lives. Editor Poppy Nwosu has compiled an anthology that celebrates and […]
In conversation with BOTY shortlisted author SJ Norman
‘Permafrost (UQP) is a collection of stories that delve into uncomfortable spaces that lie beneath familiar experiences of travel, love and loss. SJ Norman’s work presents an exciting, unsettling and engaging new voice that explores the human diasporic experience, bringing a queer and unique take on the gothic romantic tradition.’ —BOTY 2022 judging panel We […]
Content collection:
Meet the Publisher
The Small Press Network Interviews: Terri-ann White, Upswell Publishing
As she prepares for her keynote speech for this year’s 2021 SPN Independent Publishing Conference workshop day, Terri-ann White speaks to Holly Hendry-Saunders on launching Perth-based publishing house Upswell Publishing during a pandemic. Her life before Upswell’s inception White, a veteran in the book industry, began her career as a bookseller at eighteen, and at […]
Meet the Publisher: Duncan Felton, Grapple Publishing
When and how were you established? After many years of semi-organised pondering and planning, Grapple Publishing started late in 2013, making itself known to the world with a call-out for submissions to The Grapple Annual No. 1. At that point it was just me sitting at my computer with some ideas, some savings and a […]
MEET THE PUBLISHER – Lacuna Publishing
Linda Nix, Publisher and Editor, Lacuna When and how were you established? I have a long-standing fascination with how words and ideas are disseminated and become part of society’s cultural fabric. After years working in the industry, I realised my dream was to run a small press. In 2010 I set up a freelance editing, […]
Meet the Publisher – coeur de lion
When and how were you established? As with all good ideas, coeur de lion was born in a pub. The speculative fiction scene goes through boom and bust cycles and at the time there weren’t a lot of local independent presses catering to a sci-fi, horror, fantasy audience. Myself and fellow author Andrew Macrae were […]