Publishing and Communications research projects
The University of Melbourne Book Industry Study: an annual survey of the Australian book publishing industry
Ms Jenny Lee, Dr Mark Davis and Mr Tim Coronel (Industry partner: Thorpe-Bowker)
This project represents a university-industry partnership to document the state of play in Australian book publishing, an industry of central importance in Australian intellectual and cultural life. The data gathered will help to identify opportunities and risks for the industry at a time when it is undergoing rapid technological change and reorienting itself towards global markets. The project will be designed to facilitate comparison with studies in other countries, identify the local impact of global trends and foster forward-looking industry responses. The information gathered will be invaluable for researchers, industry personnel and policy-making bodies, and will establish the groundwork for targeted research into key industry issues. Learn more
Australian literary publishing and its economies, 1965-1995
Dr Mark Davis, with Prof Ivor Indyk, University of Western Sydney
Australian literature leads a precarious existence because it depends upon a small local readership. The trade publishers are reducing their literary output, abandoning their backlists, their midlist authors, poetry, and even 'literary fiction'. This project explores the distinctive economy of Australian literary publishing during the period 1965-1995 when, by contrast, it enjoyed wide support, and national cultural significance. The distinguishing features of this economy were not obviously 'commercial', but they were commercial in import - by focusing on them, we seek to restore confidence in the logic of literary publishing, and the commercial viability of Australian literature.
More research projects
Further information on the variety of projects in which staff and research fellows are involved is available on their profile pages, which can be accessed from the following pages: