Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Graph of literary magazines in Australia from 1880 to 2012
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Setting out
- 3 Definitions
- 4 Some background
- 5 The sixties and all that
- 6 A major expansion
- 7 Academic developments and other problems
- 8 A more ‘realistic' decade
- 9 New editors
- 10 Changes among the established magazines
- 11 A magazine apart
- 12 Whither the universities
- 13 A brave new world
- 14 Everything that is solid melts
- 15 New magazines
- 16 The problem of poetry again
- 17 A new demographic?
- 18 Away from Sydney and Melbourne
- 19 Some of the same old problems
- 20 A case in point — Heat
- 21 Anti-democratic tendencies
- 22 An unreliable commodity
- 23 Complications and conclusions
- Postscript
- Works cited
19 - Some of the same old problems
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Graph of literary magazines in Australia from 1880 to 2012
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Setting out
- 3 Definitions
- 4 Some background
- 5 The sixties and all that
- 6 A major expansion
- 7 Academic developments and other problems
- 8 A more ‘realistic' decade
- 9 New editors
- 10 Changes among the established magazines
- 11 A magazine apart
- 12 Whither the universities
- 13 A brave new world
- 14 Everything that is solid melts
- 15 New magazines
- 16 The problem of poetry again
- 17 A new demographic?
- 18 Away from Sydney and Melbourne
- 19 Some of the same old problems
- 20 A case in point — Heat
- 21 Anti-democratic tendencies
- 22 An unreliable commodity
- 23 Complications and conclusions
- Postscript
- Works cited
Summary
As in the 1970s, associations would develop such as Small Press Underground Networking Community (SPUNC), started in 2006, with remarkably similar aims to the Australasian Small Magazines Association and the Australian Independent Publishers Association during the 1970s. This was evidence that the major problems for literary magazines (and small presses) were different in the 2000s, but with similarities, and further evidence that the 2000s represented a second upsurge of activity. Interestingly, Nathan Hollier, a past editor of Overland, was a major driving force behind the formation of SPUNC, suggesting that during difficult times some people have more of a collective consciousness than others.
In May 2010, the SPUNC website declared:
SPUNC is committed to building and promoting good relationships with booksellers and maintaining clear channels of information … [M]any of Australia's favourite authors emerged from the publishing programs of small publishing houses and literary magazines. Yet, due to the difficulties of marketing and distribution for these organisations, many booksellers remain unaware of the wide range of quality publications that small publishers produce. (n.p.)
In 2007 SPUNC commissioned a report, A Lovely Kind of Madness: Small and Independent Publishing in Australia (the title based on a quote from Ian Syson, of Vulgar Press and formerly of Overland), on the state of smallpress publication. The report was written by Kate Freeth, and identified a number of key issues for the sector, including literary magazines. Forty-six presses were surveyed, of which nineteen were members of SPUNC. While acknowledging the diversity and important cultural role played by the presses and the magazines, Freeth identified that members had two major concerns:
Unsurprisingly, distribution and publicity remain the major difficulties for small and independent publishers. Relatively small print runs, low margins and a large area to cover mean commercial distribution services often don't suit small publishers. (1)
Of the major difficulties identified by those surveyed, unprompted, 39 per cent cited distribution as their major problem, followed by publicity and marketing. Freeth noted that
the problem of publicity is underlined by a general lack of attention from mainstream media, and low public awareness means less interest from booksellers, low sales and thus low print runs, which further compounds the problem of distribution. (1)
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Tilting at WindmillsThe literary magazine in Australia, 1968-2012, pp. 209 - 218Publisher: The University of Adelaide PressPrint publication year: 2015