The book publishing
industry can be tough no matter who you are- writers are famous
for struggling for years, literary agents get deluged with sub-par
manuscripts, chain outfits dominate the retail side of the business,
and CDs, DVDs and computer games vie for the consumer’s
dollar. On top of that is the fact that Australia has always
been seen as something of a poor cousin of the bigger players
in the industry- having escaped from under the thumb of British
publishers, we now find ourselves with American titles flooding
the best-seller lists and taking the pride of place in the displays
in Borders, Readings and Dymocks.
It’s strange then, that the market should be so receptive
to an enterprise such as Sleepers Publishing. An independent publishing
house in Melbourne that devotes as much time to emerging fiction
as to established authors and with an acknowledged love of innovation
in writing, Sleepers Publishing, the brainchild of Louise Swinn
and Zoe Dattner, is a breath of life in the Australian publishing
industry. Like its American counterpart, Dave Eggers’s McSweeney’s
independent literary publishing house, Sleepers has won accolades
for its commitment to quality, rather than to the almighty dollar.
Sleepers
was launched in 2003 with an ambitious manifesto of goals- To make
Australian writing a profitable enterprise for both writers and
publishers, to promote writing as a viable career option and business
tool, to build a desire for and recognition of good writing in
every aspect of its form, to publish and establish a highly reputed
and stable backlist of Australian literary fiction, to provide
a network of relevant key individuals and businesses to interested
and talented people in order to put them on the right track, and
to assist writers in their careers, and promote Australia's literary
and publishing houses.
Right from its inception, Sleepers has
made giant strides towards accomplishing its goals, the two main
prongs of its assault on the state of contemporary publishing
being the writer’s salons
that they’ve set up- evenings where writers get to together
and talk about writing, featuring the likes of Kate Holden, Alice
Garner and Nick Earls. In a more material form, the Sleepers Almanac
is reintroducing the art of the short story back into Australian
publishing. Louise Swinn, co-founder, was able to spare some of
her time to shed a little further light on how Sleepers came to
be.
When asked how the venture got started,
Louise’s reply is
frank.
‘Two ex-RMIT prof. writing & editing students / publishing professionals
wanted to create a well- produced book of good quality emerging fiction alongside
established authors. We quit our jobs and met to begin work one Monday morning
mid-winter.’
Unfortunately the world is not as movies would have you believe-
just because you have the guts to start an independent venture
with a creative vision, reward can still sometimes be a long time
coming, and hard work is usually what makes or break an enterprise.
What has the hardest part of getting Sleepers up and running?
‘Not
having any money - not getting paid. There are always obstacles.
Like the good bits, the obstacles are almost too numerous to name.
Distribution - our book not being in stores around the country
when and where it should be - is the biggest obstacle. Getting
enough publicity, getting reviews, being heard - that's hard when
you're tiny.
Mostly, obstacles stem from a shortage of money and staff. We don't
have enough time to chase every star we see. Then there's the small
small bastards who don't understand when you're
trying to make something that's not necessarily what they want,
and they get in the way of you doing your job properly - by not
giving you grants, by saying untrue things, by not lifting themselves
up and being generous, saying no when they should know better.
Most of the time, it's the opposite - generally, people are so
full of big goodness that coming into the office is like riding
a massive wave.’
The overall response to what Sleepers
is trying to accomplish has been a positive one, with praise
coming from such luminaries of Australian publishing as Meanjin
editor Ian Britain and co-founder of McPhee Gribble, Hilary McPhee.
The Sleepers Writer’s Salons
are a key to the lavish praise that is being heaped on the publishing
house. Brilliant in their simplicity, the Salons are a way for
writers and other creative types to get together and enjoy the
company, opinions, and experiences of like-minded people. Plus,
Sleepers’s energetic and relaxed approach to the Salons make
them a lot of fun.
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How exactly
did the Salons come to be?
‘The Salons got started as a way of us getting our name out there, as
a way of people understanding what it is we believe in and advocate for as
far as good writing is concerned. We realised that there is a huge gap in the
literary events market, that being the gap of entertaining and fun bookish
events, that still deal with serious literature. So we wanted to attract people
who might not otherwise go to book-related events through fear of being bored
or not understanding what's going on.’
The other ongoing project that Sleepers is involved in is the Sleepers
Almanac. Composed of short fiction, the Almanac offers some of the
best new short fiction by Australian authors. It also disproves the
claim made by so many of the literati who have been proclaiming the
art of the short story dead.
What has been the response to the Almanac?
‘Fabulous. The general response has been super.
We've obviously sparked a lot of interest from people who are
genuinely excited about the prospect of this kind of publishing,
and many of them want to be involved in doing exactly this thing
themselves, or they want to be published by us.’
However this does create something of a high benchmark-
what determines the pieces of writing that end up in the Almanac?
‘It's whatever we all agree is the best writing
of the bunch that gets sent to us. It's the stuff that makes
us jump up and down with delight, or squirm with discomfort -
the stuff that makes us laugh and cry.’
With a genuine enthusiasm for good Australian writing, Swinn and
Dattner have well and truly put their money where their mouths are.
It’s a good thing, too- publishing houses like Sleepers are
important; nurturing Australian writing that otherwise may not make
it into an increasingly commercial market.
On that topic, what is Swinn’s opinion of current
Australian publishing?
’How long have you got? In short, I think there
are some amazing ventures happening right now. Some really
generous, heartfelt, big and amazing publishing. But there's
still not enough of it. We need more of everything - more magazines,
more journals and lit mags to choose from, and more different
styles as far as novels and short stories are concerned. We
need to focus to come back to fiction as a way of telling 'real'
stories; non fiction's so hot at the moment.’
So what would she like to see more of?
‘I'd like to see fewer colonial stories, less
writing about the death of a parent. More attempts at different
styles, more big, family novels. More novels about suburbia,
like AL McCann's 'Subtopia'. The city's a fascinating place -
I'd like to read more books set here.’
The sheer amount of effort it takes to launch and co-ordinate the
range of activities that Sleepers engages in suggests that a commitment
to and enjoyment of good writing is deeply ingrained in Swinn and
Dattner.
How does that translate into running a publishing house-
is there a particular outlook of philosophy behind Sleepers?
‘We're crazy about writing that's generous - writers
who are spirited, taking risks, doing things that are a bit different.
Innovative, entertaining. We also like things that make us laugh.
That's a philosophy about our publishing; more generally, we
are keen on writers who take themselves seriously (by working
hard at their writing) but also know when not to take themselves
too seriously. We're in it for the long haul, so we're keen on
other people who are committed, too. Generosity of spirit and
in writing and of time is hugely important to us; people who
are keen to listen out for new voices and encourage them. We
wanted to create an independent publication that didn't suck
and that would have broad appeal and be good quality with high
production values. We wanted to get writers fired up about there
being a book that they really wanted to be in, something that
they could be proud about being in, and something that readers
would be delighted to carry in their bags and read at every opportunity.
We wanted to produce a literary production that doesn't take
itself too seriously. It delivers good content and it's also
a feast for the eye.’
Having succeeded on all counts so far, what’s
next on the agenda for Sleepers?
‘Three Salons as part of the Melbourne Writers'
festival (2 songwriters' Salons, one Nick Earls Salon); a book
about Melbourne illustrators and their work; a book of zany toast
recipes; and the next Almanac (to be released in Feb 2007).’
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