'Nic Brasch: Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Garret. The Garret podcast is a series of interviews with the best writers writing today. Today’s interview, however, is not with a writer but a publisher. Michael Heyward is an editor and publisher with Text Publishing. Text is one of Australia’s leading independent publishers. Michael’s story, which includes his thoughts on what it takes to get your book published, comes in a moment.' (Introduction)
Transcript available from website.
Show notes
-Michael read widely as a child, including Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (and unexpectedly) Power without Glory by Frank Hardy. He credits these works with introducing him to the experience of being immersed in a fictional world.
-When studying at Melbourne University, Michael fell under the spell of the poetry of Basil Bunting (especially his poem ‘Briggflatts’), and even tracked him down in England to strike up a literary friendship.
-At Scripsi, Michael published the Monash Poets (Allan Wearne, Laurie Duggan and John A. Scott), as well as some of the early writing of Helen Garner. Looking back, Michael places Scripsi in the context of Meanjin,
-Overland and international magazines, such as The Paris Review.
-Michael explains the beginning of his long-term literary partnership with Tim Flannery, which started when they edited an edition of Watkin Tench’s writings (published as 1788). Michael feels Kate Grenville’s The Secret River and Inga Clendinnen’s Dancing with Strangers: Europeans and Australians at first contact were influenced by Watkin Tench.
-Text published Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, and Michael discusses how exceptional the manuscript was to read. For Michael, it was a similar experience to reading Stiff by Shane Maloney (one the first novels published at Text) and His Bloody Project by Grame Mcrae Burnet (and shortlisted for the Booker Prize).
-Michael explains his thoughts on the parallel importation of books debate in Australia, as well as the likely impact on writing and writers in Australia (and of course, readers in Australia).
-Finally, Michael admits to passing on Stieg Larsson, author of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
