Membership Criteria

Full Membership $132 + GST

SPN Full Membership is available to currently operating small and independent publishers located in Australia and New Zealand. SPN Members are expected to be commercial entities and can be publishers of books, magazines or digital content (including ebooks and audiobooks). Membership requests are put before a sub-committee, which considers the applicant’s qualifications using the following guidelines. 

You can become a full member if:

• You pay fees, advances or royalties to authors. 
• You are a magazine publisher who pays contributors in cash or in kind, as distinct from magazines financed by fees from contributors.
• You abide by our Code of Conduct. 

You cannot become a full member if:

• You are an entirely vanity press or company that only provides ‘publishing services’, where books are published at the authors’ expense or require financial investment from the authors. 
• You are a self-publisher who does not consider outside submissions, or who solely publishes their own work. 
• You are a publisher where more than 50% of the titles are created by authors directly associated with the publishing house.

SPN acknowledges the rapidly changing nature of contemporary publishing, and organisations that engage in other forms of publishing outside of standard print publishing are encouraged to apply. Such activities may involve publication of ebooks, audiobooks, PoD publishing, online publishing or other related activities. Such organisations are, however, expected to function as commercial entities engaging in commercial publishing activities, and will be vetted by our membership committee on a case-by-case basis.

Criteria considered for non-traditional publishers can include the following: 

• Registration of an ABN 
• Payment of authors 
• Government funding or grant support 
• Revenue generated from advertising, sales of subscriptions, services or other products 
• Other demonstrable forms of public recognition and excellence within their field

Associate Membership $99 + GST

SPN Associate status is open to anyone interested in the writing and publishing industry, including self-publishers, service providers, readers and writers.