“Sidelines” and Trade Lines: Publishing the Australian Novel, 1860–1899

Recent studies of the book (and of publishing and reading) in Australia emphasize the importance of British books and authors for colonial literary culture, while describing the absence of local publishing and disregard of colonial readers for Australian fiction. Based on a quantitative analysis of the place and form of publication of Australian novels from 1860 to 1899, I argue that local publishing and writing were significantly more important to colonial literary culture than these recent accounts allow, and that a local readership for Australian fiction also helps to explain the activities of British book publishers in the colonial market.