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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