Mark's Say, May, 2017
Like Australian publishing generally, university publishing in Australia has gone through its ups and downs. Melbourne University Publishing has dominated the sector for the last 30 years or so, but like many Australian publishers, it’s had to adjust to a changing landscape. University of Queensland Press established itself as a literary publisher in the 70s and 80s, publishing Peter Carey, Kate Grenville and David Malouf. It’s recently appointed former Australia Council Literature executive, Jill Eddington, as its director.
It’s heartening to see some renewed confidence in the scholarly area of university publishing. New South (University of New South Wales) has been winning awards for its books. Monash University Publishing has been doing interesting books that delve more deeply into our community. Last month, former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks launched Race Mathews’ Of Labour and Liberty, which looks at the now largely forgotten Distributist political philosophy – and how it might be a future model. (Mathews is discussing this book with Barry Jones at Readings Hawthorn tonight.) Earlier this year, Melbourne’s Black Inc. announced a partnership with Latrobe University to help ‘academics and experts from all over Australia to deliver books of high intellectual quality, substance and originality’. Two of the six titles proposed for 2017 (both important books on foreign affairs) came out last month, to a very favourable response: China Matters: Getting It Right for Australia by Linda Jakobson and Bates Gill, and Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the World Since 1942 by Allan Gyngell. Next up is a collection of writings by Donald Horne, selected by his son Nick. Black Inc.’s publishing director, Chris Feik (also Latrobe University Press Publishing Director), and his team, will provide all the editorial, production and marketing for the series, which will be selected by an editorial board comprising Feik, Emeritus Professor Robert Manne, Vice-Chancellors’ Fellow Dr Elizabeth Finkel AO, and Morry Schwartz. They’re off to a good start.
The historic Victorian goldfields village of Clunes will host its eleventh Booktown on the weekend of 6 to 7 May. It’s a wonderful weekend of books and talks, with scores of second-hand book dealers taking over almost the entire town. Visiting and local authors, including Clementine Ford, the Hon. Tim Fischer AC, Hannah Kent, Kate Grenville, A.S. Patrić and Jock Serong, will appear in a range of events. I’ve been a number of times and enjoyed it immensely. We’ll have a stall, with books by the guest speakers, so come and say hello. The program can be found online here.
We were all saddened by the sudden death of the great John Clarke; we’ll miss his insightful wit and uncanny ability to take the piss out of people and institutions that sorely need it. He certainly was unique. In February, John kindly agreed to join his dear friend and comrade, Barry Jones, at an event we hosted discussing Barry’s book on leadership (or more accurately, lack of leadership) Knowledge, Courage, Leadership. It was a privilege for the audience to listen to the pair chat about the current status quo, with humour, sadness, insight and often derision. Though the event was ostensibly about Barry’s book, it was with a sad, unexpected premonition that Barry, at the end, thanked his friend for his great contribution to our culture and our society. ‘Clarke,’ he said ‘was our Jonathon Swift.’ He described John’s The Even More Complete Book of Verse as one of genius and one of our ‘most underrated great works’.
