Issue Details: First known date: 2019... 2019 A Fleeting Infatuation with All Things Australian : American Editions of Australian Novels, 1979–1989
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In the closing months of 1988, the literary agent Rosemary Creswell wrote of a "mini-boom in Australian books in North America," directing attention to the work of the New York publicist Selma Shapiro, who, three years earlier, had been commissioned by the Literature Board of the Australia Council to promote Australian writing in the United States of America. Shapiro's work had made her the "hub of Australian literary activity in North America," a "crowded, competitive . . . market [where] there is a need for specialist public relations companies promoting books and authors" (Creswell 8). Assessing this period three decades later, Louise Poland and Ivor Indyk acknowledged the buzz that Shapiro's work had generated but pointed to the shaky foundations of this late-1980s enthusiasm, which "was also crossed by tensions and contradictions which led to confusion, disappointment, lost opportunities, and sometimes the outright rejection of important authors and their books" (309). Poland and Indyk identified three difficulties: the promising but limited role played by Penguin Books offering Australian titles through its US affiliate, Viking Penguin; the interventions of literary agents; and the difference in values between the two cultures. Peter Carey recognized the difficulty of Shapiro's job under such conditions, suggesting that the promotion of Australian literature in New York was like "pushing shit uphill" (Carey).' (Introduction)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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    y separately published work icon Antipodes vol. 33 no. 1 June 2019 20294120 2019 periodical issue

    'This current issue of Antipodes fittingly represents the work of the three editors who have guided the journal's production in the past year or so. Volume 32 (2018), a double issue, marked the official end of Nicholas Birns's eighteen-year tenure as editor of Antipodes, and as that volume came to production, Belinda Wheeler lent a diligent hand and a keen eye to the publication of the double issue. An essay or two approved by Nicholas has made its way into the current issue (33.1), with Belinda acquiring many of the essays in this issue. Belinda also provided the editorial guidance for the special section on the work of Alexis Wright. It is from the capable hands of Nicholas and Belinda that I take the reins of the journal Antipodes, with a well-mapped path behind and an open road ahead.' (Brenda Machosky, Editorial introduction)

    2019
    pg. 49-59
Last amended 2 Oct 2020 10:35:04
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