Cirrus@Austlit

'The representation of publicists in popular culture appears to have a direct relationship with how publishing sector publicity staff are perceived by their colleagues and peers, having a distinct knock-on effect to work practices and labour conditions. In this article, we explore these perceptions and, through interviews with eight publicists working in publishing houses in Australia, explore how the work of publicity is commonly misrecognised and undervalued. In framing publicists as cultural intermediaries who contribute to the shaping of cultural tastes, we further illuminate the significant gap between the common gendered perceptions of publicists and the realities of their professional practice.' (Publication abstract)

'Bestsellers, defined by the high sales numbers they achieve and the hype they generate, are success stories that periodically galvanise the contemporary book industry. Most publishers actively seek to produce bestsellers, using a range of strategies. Contemporary bestsellers, particularly from peripheral markets and by debut authors, are produced through the strategic joining of two co-existing modes of capitalism: conglomerate capitalism and platform capitalism. This article analyses the publication pathways and reception of two debut bestsellers by Australian authors: Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites and Heather Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz. To analyse these case study titles, we constructed publishing histories, collected five media reviews for each book from reputable publications and literary journals, and scraped the top 100 reviews on Goodreads. These case studies show how the particular textual qualities of each book, highlighted in publishers’ marketing material, shape the media and reader reception of each book, and the mechanisms and strategic alliances with traditional institutional and platform networks at work in producing success in post-digital book culture. Bestsellers show the logics and systems of an industry in flux, and the strategies that can support a debut work to reach a mass audience.' (Publication abstract)

'#RomanceClass is a community which encompasses the authors, readers, actors, and artists who consume, produce, and enact mostly self-published English-language romance fiction in the Philippines. Drawing on fieldwork undertaken in 2019, this article explores the key characteristics of #RomanceClass, including the ways in which positions itself in relation to the dominant North American conception of the romance novel and publishing industry, so as to build new understanding of how romance fiction is created and negotiated outside of this hegemonic context. It finds that #RomanceClass operates as an “intimate public” [Berlant in The female complaint: the unfinished business of sentimentality in American culture, Duke University Press, Durham, London, 2008], which intrinsically affects the community’s texts and practices.'  (Publication abstract)

'Publicists perform an important but ill-understood role within the publishing industry. Surveys of the Australian and UK publishing industries reveal those working in marketing and publicity are at higher risk of sexual harassment (Books + Publishing in Over half of book-industry survey respondents report sexual harassment, Books + Publishing, 2017; The Bookseller in Sexual harassment reported by over half in trade survey, The Bookseller, 2017). There is little clarity about the role of the publicist or why they are at greater risk of workplace harassment. In this article, we synthesise existing scholarly and industry understandings of the publicist role and the labour they perform. This examination of the literature reveals an absence of critical engagement with publicists’ work. We explore the affective labour that constitutes their roles and argue that the work they do conferring visibility and prestige onto authors and publishers is a major contributing factor in rendering their role invisible in the industry. A better understanding of publicists’ role in book publishing is vital, but first this research aims to make the publicist visible.'  (Publication abstract)