Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 The 'Cultural Mission' in Indigenous Non-Fiction Book Publishing in Australia 1960–2000
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Non-fiction books by and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have arguably played a crucial role in the framing of public discussion of Indigenous issues in Australia since the 1950s. In this article, I track quantitative trends in the publishing of the approximately 769 such books for the Australian retail trade between 1960 and 2000, as part of what I describe as an emerging “cultural mission” among Australian book publishers through the period. The article then discusses two major trends within the data. The first is an overall increase in the number of titles published annually through the period, while the second is a declining interest by mass-market trade publishers in publishing books in the area from the 1980s onwards versus an increased publication rate by smaller independent presses and two large trade publishers with a particular interest in the area, one of which is also independently owned. The article concludes with a discussion of possible reasons for the latter trend in the context of ongoing debates about white Australian colonialism.'  (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Journal of Australian Studies vol. 41 no. 4 2017 12754792 2017 periodical issue

    'This issue of the Journal of Australian Studies carries eight articles, all of which, in their own way, deal with the representation of Australian culture and politics in literature, the media, and the arts. Collectively, they explore the ways in which Australia represents itself and its relation to the land and its people, highlighting some of the tensions and contradictions within these representations.' (Editorial introduction)

    2017
    pg. 450-471
Last amended 25 Jan 2018 15:54:50
450-471 The 'Cultural Mission' in Indigenous Non-Fiction Book Publishing in Australia 1960–2000small AustLit logo Journal of Australian Studies
X