As interviewed by Alistair Pitts, Marketing Specialist Lightning Source UK

How did you get into the publishing industry?

I graduated with an Arts degree in English Literature and Anthropology, in a bygone era before such a thing as a ‘Publishing Masters’ existed. I responded by snail mail to an ad for a trade sales rep at a little publishing house, Australasian Publishing Company – long since subsumed within the world’s largest publisher, Penguin Random House. Armed with a reference from a local bookseller – (a family friend who unbeknown to me, was an icon in the industry) and quoting ‘Roald Dahl’ as my favourite children’s author in response to an interview question (again, by happenstance, APC was the Australian distributor), I landed the job! At some point I made the obligatory backpacking trek overseas - a rite of passage for us intrepid Aussies - and when I returned, I landed a job in Educational Publishing. I eventually moved from repping to acquisitions, becoming an Academic Publishing Manager before finding my way to Ingram.

You’ve been at Ingram for seven years now, how has the publishing industry changed in that time?

It was a huge learning curve in the beginning. Australian publishing wasn’t paying too much attention to print-on-demand when I commenced, and ‘Ingram’ wasn’t the industry name that it is today. The growth has been pretty amazing since then, especially with the introduction of IngramSpark 6 years ago. That really changed the whole dynamic, even more so than anyone envisaged. It’s given a platform to the indie author and smaller publishers, to get a foothold in the market without the guess work regarding print runs, and all the warehousing and distribution costs that entails. I also found academic publishers were quicker off the mark - why ship ‘indent’ titles from afar at great expense, when you can print locally in real time? Trade publishers were a little more tentative initially, but they are now realising it’s a great opportunity to regenerate backlists. They’re impressed with the quality, and ‘old books’ are finding new markets which makes for a whole new revenue stream. In fact, many mid-sized Australian publishers are going straight to POD for frontlist release and achieving international sales to boot. They are seeing a fantastic uptick on their bottom line because of POD and global distribution.

What are Australian readers buying at the moment? What similarities and differences are there between Australia and other primarily English-language book markets?

Generally speaking, Australians love Australian authors and content – whether true crime or literary fiction, mass market or self-help we have a voracious and eclectic appetite. One of the best-selling books of all time is Scott Pape’s The Barefoot Investor, having sold over 1 million copies – and now available via print-on-demand with Ingram! And the children’s ‘Treehouse Series’ by Andy Griffiths has sold over 10 million units to date. If it’s an Australian author hitting the headlines everyone here supports that. Australia and New Zealand are comparatively small markets with regard to population base, but I also think we punch above our weight in terms of producing a great many authors to international acclaim – far too many to name!

How would you describe Australian readers’ appetite for books from outside Australia?

Perhaps by virtue of being ‘geographically challenged’ (i.e., a bloody long way from anywhere!), Australians are really broad-minded in what we read. We want to know what’s going on in a socio-political sense and will happily embrace great books from all corners of the globe. When I first started in the industry, Australia was generally three months behind new releases elsewhere as the books would have to be shipped in. But now we tend to get the bestsellers around the same time and there are parallel importation rules in place to safeguard the local publishing industry. Retailers can of course order books in from abroad in small quantities, including from Ingram US, but if they can get a book locally within a reasonable time frame, they will.

How has the Australian book industry been coping with the COVID-19 pandemic?

In the early stages there was a sense of paralysis, and many publishers delayed their new releases. As things settled and we began adapting to the new normal, we realised that people were buying more books. Physical bookstores no doubt suffered with the lack of foot traffic during intermittent lockdowns, but most were able to ride this out with reduced hours and some government subsidies… along with some creative problem solving: free home delivery, ‘kerbside’ collect, and setting up online shopping. They have used this time to do things they’ve been planning to do for a long time but never got around to. Likewise, a great many publishers have taken the opportunity to prepare their titles for POD, and we’ve seen an influx of new accounts and title uploads, as well as unprecedented retail sales. Online retail has ballooned, but just as significant is the burgeoning number of booksellers setting up ipage accounts. Booksellers can now order any titles priced for the Australian market via our local print facility, meaning a much faster and more economical service.

What’s your favourite book?

Hands down, Beloved, by Toni Morrison. I love all of Toni Morrison’s books but have a special attachment to Beloved as I sold that into the market in my first job as a sales rep - along with The Colour Purple; Bonfire of the Vanities; Love in the Time of Cholera; The House of the Spirits – the list goes on, and the ‘selling’ was easy!

What are you reading at the moment?

I was presenting at a regional writers’ festival early last year (pre-Covid) and I met an inspiring documentary maker, Ben Randall, whose film ‘Sisters for Sale’ was finding international acclaim. Ben is writing a series of books based on the documentary, which centres on his quest to find two young girls from a Vietnamese village who were trafficked into China and sold into marriage. I’m reading the first book, Every Stranger’s Eyes and it’s riveting.

On the ‘To Read’ pile: Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe and East West Street by Phillippe Sands. Variety is the spice of life, William Cowper was right!

Ingram’s Australia Team – From left: : Melanie Coles, Debbie Lee, Rushelle Lister, Thato Molefi