Martin Shaw: Round Up of some Current Small Press Releases [21.11.2011]

Any round-up of new releases from small to medium-sized Australian publishers in the latter part of 2011 inevitably leads one to a sense of awe at quite what this hardy band of passionate souls are achieving – year-in, year-out in this country – in the face of the numerous challenges the book trade faces these days. I hardly need to recount those challenges here.

Isn’t it about time though that these achievements by smaller publishers are better recognised? My colleagues on the board of industry body SPUNC: The Small Press Network certainly think so (and watch this space then for an update on the possible establishment of an awards night in 2012). But now to my by-no-means-comprehensive wrap of tasty morsels that no self-respecting Xmas hamper should overlook (if you will pardon my anthropomorphism). So why don’t we start with the letter A and that dynamic publisher Affirm Press? This year saw the publication of no less than six debut short-story collections at regular intervals, all of which were received to considerable critical acclaim. And if their hip credentials weren’t already secure, look out for their Christmas offering: Marc Andrews’ Pop Life: Inside Smash Hits Australia 1984-2007 .

Now the beauty of this sector is also that it constantly surprises, often by alerting you to aspects of culture or community that you might be only dimly aware of. Imagine my surprise when I sighted in my store the other day Sarah Miram’s Darebin Parklands: Escaping the Claws of the Machine from Melbourne Books, a wonderful account of the battle to save an unsightly municipal tip from commercial development and to create the bushland park we know and love today. For those who might have preferred the sticky carpet in those years, Melbourne Books also has Dolores San Miguel’s The Ballroom: The Melbourne Punk and Post-Punk Scene. Here’s a publisher who has got all bases covered.

In terms of fiction stocks, small presses are often considered ‘incubators’ that identify and nurture local talent before handing them over to “proper” publishers. Thankfully, the reality is rather different. Enduring relationships are often formed between authors and their chosen publishers, whose taste and attention got them noticed in the first place. So as well as Affirm Press’ Long Story Shorts series, we have debut collections from Giramondo in Jess Huon’s The Dark Wet and Spineless Wonders’ The Rattler & other stories by A S Patric.

Marvellous novels from the ever-astute Sleepers Publishing, Steven Amsterdam’s What the Family Needed and Miles Vertigan’s Life Kills have also just been released.

Tony Birch returns with his mightily impressive Blood from UQP.

Fremantle Press gives us Adam Morris’s My Dog Gave Me the Clap – which the author swears ISN’T a semi-autobiographical first novel.

There’s also a foray into the graphic novel genre from Black Pepper Publishing with Mirranda Burton’s Hidden. Dylan Horrocks, author of the acclaimed Hicksville, says “it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read”!

And what about poetry or general non-fiction I hear you asking? These are all fields too rich to comprehensively survey!

So here’s a brief highlights package:

UQP have a finger on the political pulse with Andy Lamey’s Frontier Justice: The Global Refugee Crisis and What to Do About It, “compulsory reading for our politicians” according to Julian Burnside.

The first title in the Giramondo Shorts Series is Michael Wilding’s offbeat account of his publishing days, Wild & Woolley: A Memoir.

Puncher and Wattmann have Bruce Dawe’s Slo Mo Tsunami and Other Poems.

The irrepressible UQP also has a marvellous anthology, 30 Young Australian Poets, edited by Felicity Plunkett.

Giramondo have also started publishing a series of Selected Poems by distinguished Australian poets, with Gig Ryan’s New and Selected Poems being the first in the series.

In the visual arts, Australian Scholarly Press offers Simon Gregg’s The New Romantics: Darkness and Light in Australian Art.

Finally: journal culture. Sadly there was a demise this year with the treasure-chest that was Ivor Indyk’s Heat, and an almighty scare for Island who, thankfully, got a temporary reprieve. But there’s also good news to report as well. Kill Your Darlings has kept its early promise alive with a stimulating mix across the genres, and an excellent blog that takes a close temperature of cultural opinions and debates around the country.

Can we talk then about ‘rude health’ in Australian small press publishing? Well maybe not in their bank accounts (!), but richness is to be found at every turn here. I would urge all readers to not take for granted our cultural land of plenty – get thee to a bookshop and reciprocate these publishers’ sterling efforts.

Martin Shaw is Books Division Manager for Readings Books, Music & Film.

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