Have you noticed those cool-looking books with the yellow spine and the Text Publishing colophon? Officially known as Text Classics, at only $12.95 they’re a chance for any of us to discover our literary history and some very good books as well. The series was launched in 2012 with 30 titles and now has about 100 in print.

I asked Text publisher Michael Heyward where he got the idea from and he said it was actually back in 1995, in the very early days of Text: ‘I’d just read Tim Flannery’s seminal work, The Future Eaters, and he quoted extensively from the writings of Watkin Tench.’ Heyward had never heard of Tench, so he went to the State Library and found a copy of a 1960 reprint of his 1792 book, Sydney’s First Four Years. He was so impressed that he knew he wanted to bring this book back to life and wrote to Flannery, asking him if he’d like to edit the book and write an introduction. Flannery agreed immediately. The then sales director of Penguin, Peter Blake, told Heyward that he was mad to publish a book that was over 200 years old and bet him that it wouldn’t sell more than 1,500 copies. Blake lost the bet, Heyward ‘learned that old books can become really new and that there is a hunger for them’ and the re-titled 1788 by Watkin Tench has now sold over 50,000 copies.

Over the next 15 years, Text dabbled in reviving books that other publishers had allowed to go out of print but, ironically, it was Blake who provided the impetus for a carefully curated list of great Australian writing when he brought out the Popular Penguins, quality backlist titles at a very sharp price of $9.95. That series was an immediate hit but it contained few Australian titles and it provided Heyward with the model. To create the first list Heyward and his team first looked at Australian books that had been made into films; they found The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle – ‘the best book on Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war.’ They became literary sleuths and scoured second-hand bookshops looking for Australian titles. They discovered Elizabeth Harrower and Madeleine St John and brought most of their books back into print – ‘there were some great women writers writing here just after the war and their work is still vibrant and relevant.’ Harrower’s The Watchtower has sold over 15,000 copies as a Text Classic.

The list has now developed an impetus of its own; readers, agents and booksellers suggest titles and Heyward revives the works if they are good. He’s also included great comic works such as Death in Brunswick, They’re a Weird Mob and Stiff. Heyward has publicly decried the scant attention Australian writing is given in our schools and libraries, and he sees the Text Classics as a way of introducing our cultural heritage to a younger generation of readers. ‘It’s the richest thing we’ve ever done,’ says a rightly proud Heyward.

To celebrate Text Classics, Readings is offering you a great opportunity to savour them – buy two and you can select a third free – only for October and while stocks last!

Mark Rubbo