Publishing in Australia
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
W Kirsop
8 points * 2.5 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
This subject provides a critical and historical view of publishing in Australia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although it is not vocational in character, it also aims to give students a practical understanding of work in a publisher's office. It looks at all the processes that stood between the author's manuscript and the printed book in the hands of the reader in both periods, with case studies selected from the 1870s and the 1980s. The interdependence of the Australian and British, and latterly American, publishing industries is explored in an attempt to explain the social and cultural significance of the local trade.
Assessment
Two practical exercises (500 words each): 20% * Report (2000 words): 20% * Essay (3000 words): 30% * Class test (1.5 hours): 30%
Prescribed texts
Australian Government Publishing Service Style manual for authors, editors and printers 4th edn, AGPS
Beaumont J How to do your own publishing: A complete guide to self-publishing in Australia Orlando Press
Borchardt D H and Kirsop W (eds) The book in Australia: Essays towards a cultural and social history Australian Reference Publications
Clark G N Inside book publishing: A career builder's guide Blueprint
Plotnik A The elements of editing: A modern guide for editors and journalists Macmillan
Recommended texts
Coser L A and others Books: The culture and commerce of publishing U Chicago P
Unwin S The truth about publishing Allen and Unwin