Monday, March 19, 2012

Australian Women Writers 2012 Challenge

I signed up for this the other day. I almost didn't. I've got a lot of quite major demands on my time this year and I read a vast number of books by Australian women writers, much of it genre. The prospect of having to write reviews (even short ones) for them all was daunting to say the least.

Then I read this post where a Sydney based agent talks about the reasons she believes it's hard to sell Australian novels. It makes for interesting reading as much in the comments as the post itself. I'm sure the factors she lists are correct but the important issue raised in the comments of getting hold of books by Australian writers is also critical.

I continually find myself having to order in books because my local bookshops haven't stocked them and, most infuriating, unless I find out from other sources, I can miss out on second or third books in a trilogy because I've never seen that they have been released. If this happens to me, it also happens to others and, if they are not as committed as I am to reading local fiction (and I'm sure the reasons in the post and comments are the reality for many), they may be permanently lost as readers.

I doubt I'll review everything I read and reread - I'm one of those people who doesn't only enjoy a book once - but I'll make an attempt. Watch this space.

No comments: