Virginia Lloyd on what Australian publishers want
Wednesday, 5 December 2012 Books+Publishing @booksandpublishing
US-based Australian literary agent Virginia Lloyd recently travelled to Australia to meet with some of the major trade publishers. Below she summarises what Australian publishers are looking for, based on her meetings:
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In a word, nonfiction. Nonfiction sells more books, and publishers want to keep their jobs. Stories of ‘tree-change’ and aspects of relationships that haven’t been done to death seem particularly welcome.
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They want intelligent commercial fiction for women that has a darker edge to it. What does that mean? Great storytelling that takes on social issues without moralising or speechifying, which doesn’t necessarily tie up every strand of plot in a pretty bow, and which may or may not include an element of suspense. Take a look at the two bestselling examples of this genre from 2012: Hannah Richell’s Secrets of the Tides (Hachette) and Fiona Higgins’ The Mothers’ Group (A&U).
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Historical fiction seems to be having a moment at the moment.
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They seem rather taken with ‘farm-lit’, aka the girl-meets-man-on-the-land or agri-romance. Or even the agri-sans romance, such as Mary Groves’ An Outback Life (Arena). This genre can work in fiction or nonfiction.
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They still want memoir if it has a strong hook. Surprise recent hits of this nature include Cleo (Arena), about a cat who helped a grieving family; and The Happiest Refugee (A&U), Anh Do’s true tale of his Vietnamese family’s struggle to reach Australia and build a life here.
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With the death of Bryce Courtenay, the door is wide open for a new teller of large-canvas Australian tales.
Do you agree with this assessment of demand in the Australian book market? Email us your thoughts at bookseller.publisher@thorpe.com.au.
This is an edited extract from Virginia Lloyd’s blog. To read the full post, click here.
Category: Features
