Community Publishing in Regional Australia
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communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Community Publishing in Regional Australia
@communitypubinaus.bsky.social
48 followers 49 following 58 posts
Researching how community groups in regional Australia are using digital technology to publish and distribute books. 2023-2025.

https://linktr.ee/communitypublishinginaus
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communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Yesterday Beth Driscoll joined host Jack Gembitsky at @2ser.bsky.social to chat about the value of print and digital books, and some of the research from our project. You can click the link to listen now!

www.2ser.com/stories/why-...
Why Physical Books are Still Valuable - 2SER
Physical books are still needed today as they hold significant historical and cultural value. Beth Driscoll joins us to explain further.
www.2ser.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Community Publishing in Regional Australia
exhumelit.bsky.social
WE’RE LIVE!!
You can now find our editorial introduction on our Substack: exhume.substack.com/p/welcome-to...
Many thanks to all who have subscribed so far, and to the @roderickcentrejcu for supporting us.
We hope you enjoy reading Exhume’s first issue.
ALT Text: Text based image with an abstract green background. The text is a pull quote from Exhume’s editorial introduction and reads: A core value in developing Exhume was to bridge the gap between academic and popular writing. The reasons were twofold: to provide a publishing experience for contributors to further their creative, writing, and literary careers; and to bring that knowledge and expertise to a wider non-academic audience
December 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
We were thrilled to be featured on the @australianbooks.bsky.social podcast recently!!

Veronica and Laurie were so lovely to invite @alexdane.bsky.social to come chat with them about the DIY Publishing Toolkit, and we think the podcast episode is excellent 🤩
The image has a bright read background. The top left corner says Australian Book Lovers Podcast, and features the ABL logo - a blue shield with the letters A B L written in front of it. Below the logo is a picture of Alex Dane, a white woman with short black hair. She is smiling at a very small dog who she is holding in her hands. The right of the image features the book cover or DIY Publishing Toolkit. It is bright yellow and features the text: The Community Publishing in Regional Australia Project. DIY Publishing Toolkit. Beth Driscoll, Kim Wilkins, Sandra Phillips, and Alexandra Dane. The bottom part of the image says Episode 156 A chat with researcher Alexandra Dane.
December 2, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Reposted by Community Publishing in Regional Australia
editsannotations.bsky.social
We're back!

Edits & Annotations kicks off our second season in the company of the brilliant Steve MinOn, who joins Bethany to talk about the importance of building a community of writers, world building, identity, and, of course, names.

www.pod.link/1793719696/e...
www.pod.link
November 18, 2025 at 1:14 PM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
If you haven't yet registered for Monday's (free and online!) Symposium, there is still time! Register now for what is going to be a fascinating day all about reading, writing, and publishing in regional Australia 🤩
communitypubinaus.bsky.social Community Publishing in Regional Australia @communitypubinaus.bsky.social · Nov 11
Registrations are now open for our (free!) upcoming symposium! 🥳 It will be held on 24th November, running approximately between 10am and 4pm AEDT (Syd/Melb Time). It is shaping up to be a great event full of SUCH interesting research on Reading, Writing, and Publishing in Regional Australia.
The image has a bright yellow and orange background, with dark green bold text. In the bottom left corner there is an illustrated image of a microphone. The text says: Registration now open! Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Online Symposium Monday 24 November 2025
November 20, 2025 at 11:44 PM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Registrations are now open for our (free!) upcoming symposium! 🥳 It will be held on 24th November, running approximately between 10am and 4pm AEDT (Syd/Melb Time). It is shaping up to be a great event full of SUCH interesting research on Reading, Writing, and Publishing in Regional Australia.
The image has a bright yellow and orange background, with dark green bold text. In the bottom left corner there is an illustrated image of a microphone. The text says: Registration now open! Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Online Symposium Monday 24 November 2025
November 11, 2025 at 3:00 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
The CFP for our upcoming online symposium has officially closed!

Didn't manage to get your abstract submitted in time? No worries! Caitlin will still accept abstracts until early next week - so you still have a few more days to get yours in.
The image has a bright yellow and orange background and dark greed text. An illustrated image of a megaphone is in the bottom left corner, it is also dark green. The text reads: Online Symposium. Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Monday 24 November 2025 Abstracts Due: 10 October 2025
October 10, 2025 at 6:00 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Closing soon💥🎉 Get your abstracts in tomorrow!
October 9, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by Community Publishing in Regional Australia
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
We are excited to announce that the CFP has opened for our upcoming symposium: Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia! It will take place online on Monday 24 November 2025.

Abstracts are due 10 October 2025.

tinyurl.com/ReadingWriti...
Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Online Symposium
Online Symposium Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Monday 24 November 2025 What if the future of the book in Australia does not emerge from Silicon Valley, London or Sydney: but i...
tinyurl.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:51 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Our latest journal article has been published and is available to read now!
The image is of the first page of a journal article published by Media International Australia. Title: Towards a comprehensive picture of Australian literature beyond the publishing capitals. Authors: Alexandra Dane, Beth Driscoll, Caitlin Parker, Sandra Phillips, and Kim Wilkins. Abstract: This article details the independent, small press and community publishing in Australia that is occurring outside the two major metropolitan publishing centres of Sydney and Melbourne. Guided by Mary Graham's articulation of the significance of place (2007) and drawing on a dataset constructed from the AustLit database from 2013 to 2023, we identify a high quantity of varied publishing activity in Australia's regions. The result is a comprehensive picture of writing and publishing that covers publishing location, form, and genre. Our findings illustrate that each state and territory has its own profile of activity: while there are some broad trends that characterise publishing across the continent (such as the popularity of children's picture book publishing) there are also differences, such as the high proportion of poetry published in South Australia and the relatively high number of reference works published in First Nations languages in the Northern Territory. Our research thus offers new understandings of regional and community publishing and demonstrates the central role of place and community as a driving force of writing and publishing.
October 2, 2025 at 2:47 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
We are excited to announce that the CFP has opened for our upcoming symposium: Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia! It will take place online on Monday 24 November 2025.

Abstracts are due 10 October 2025.

tinyurl.com/ReadingWriti...
Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Online Symposium
Online Symposium Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Monday 24 November 2025 What if the future of the book in Australia does not emerge from Silicon Valley, London or Sydney: but i...
tinyurl.com
September 19, 2025 at 5:51 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Our newest newsletter is available on our Substack! We have many, many updates to share in this newsletter. Most excitingly, Kim officially launched our DIY Publishing Toolkit at the Outback Writers Festival in Winton!
September 12, 2025 at 5:53 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Thrilled that our article 'The significance of place in book publishing: Insights from community publishing in regional Australia' is out and available to read now!

doi.org/10.1177/1367...
The image is a screenshot of the abstract of a scholarly article. The title is 'The Significance of place in book publishing: Insights from community publishing in regional Australia.' The authors are Beth Driscoll, Alexandra Dane, Sandra Phillips, and Kim Wilkins. Abstract: This article argues for the importance of place in the study of contemporary publishing activity. We offer insights from a research project into the production of books by community groups and individuals in regional Australia, with a focus on four sites: Alice Springs/Mparntwe, Broken Hill/Willyama, Winton (on the lands of the Koa people) and Ayr (on the lands of the Bindal people). Our design is informed by place- and relationality-centred Indigenous research epistemologies, and also makes use of Western methods including interviews. Our research findings confirm that place is highly significant for some kinds of publishing activity, as writers and publishers are motivated to tell local stories, draw on local print businesses as well as digital technology, and share the resulting books with family, friends and close networks. These findings demonstrate alternative power relations to those that structure the mainstream publishing industry, where power is supposed to concentrate in global literary centres such as New York and London and writers from the margins struggle for recognition. Our research demonstrates that a focus on local places and community publishing can tell a new story of the future of the book by recognising divergent and locally specific practices.
August 25, 2025 at 6:12 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Phillip Leighton-Daly is an author based in Moss Vale NSW. Phillip writes meticulously researched books about local history, and YA fiction: ‘This isn’t just storytelling. It’s history, heart, and hard-hitting fiction—crafted by a man who’s lived a life worth writing about.’
The image has a bright yellow background with bold white text. The text reads: Phillip Leighton Daly Author Spotlight. In the centre of the image are three books, positioned so they progress diagonally from top left to bottom right. The books are: Against the Tide, The Prince who wanted to live forever, and The Crinkling on the Pie. Each book is by Phillip Leighton-Daly
August 1, 2025 at 4:00 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Elephant Page Publishing is an exciting new publishing house in Perth (Boorloo). The press is run by students under the guidance of a team of publishing professionals, and their mission is to “to uplift new voices and talents on both sides of the publishing process.”
The image has a lavender background decorated by white splotches like paint strokes. In the centre, there is a black logo of a stylised elephant head that resembles a capital 'E'. Next to it is text saying: Elephant Page Publishing.
July 18, 2025 at 4:41 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
We have a new article by team member Roseleigh Priest up on the Self-Publishing Australia blog! The article explores the experiences of indie authors, with insights from Kathleen Ryder, a wonderful indie romance author the team interviewed in Alice Springs.

selfpub.com.au/2025/06/we-s...
The image has a turquoise background and white text saying: "Article Publication! Click the link in our bio to read. 'We should be paying more attention to indie authors - here's why' Roseleigh Priest." In the middle of the image, there is an illustration of a white picture frame containing the logo for Self-Publishing Australia. It is a white square with large black text saying: "SP Aus"
July 4, 2025 at 6:01 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
It's here!!! Our DIY Publishing Toolkit is now freely available to read. If you're a writer getting ready to embark on your publishing adventure, this is the guide for you. Check it out!

hdl.handle.net/11343/356821
The image has text saying: "It's Here! Follow the link in our bio to read our new toolkit for aspiring authors." Next to the text is a book cover. It has a dark yellow background, and a circle in the middle with a yellow-to-orange gradient. The circle contains an illustration of an open book with flowers growing out of it (the Community Publishing in Regional Australia logo). The cover has text saying: "The community publishing in regional Australia project. DIY publishing Toolkit. Beth Driscoll, Kim Wilkins, Sandra Phillips and Alexandra Dane."
June 23, 2025 at 7:19 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Get ready! On the 23rd of June we will be releasing a DIY Publishing Toolkit. If you're interested in publishing a book, no matter the genre, this toolkit will set you up for success!

Check back next week to read it for free!
The image has a yellow and teal cartoon of a calendar page. The text says: "Get Ready! 7 Days Left Until our DIY Publishing Toolkit."
June 16, 2025 at 8:33 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Swallows Part One is a fabulous graphic novel by Tasmania based artist Joshua Santospirito. The novel follows Joshua’s grandfather as he built his life from a working child in the streets of Melbourne to the King of Flowers on Flinders Street.

www.sankessto.com/product/swal...
The image has a light blue background decorated with white silhouettes of flying swallows. There are two white bubbles shaped like clouds, containing dark blue text that says: 'Swallows Part One, Joshua Santospirito, San Kessto Publications.' A book cover is on the right. It is illustrated in dark blue and has a sketched appearance. It contains a nautical wooden structure, resembling a frame or ship window. There is a circle in the middle containing text, which says: "Swallows Part One, Joshua Santospirito."
June 12, 2025 at 6:18 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Based out of the Federal Box Factory in Adelaide, Friendly Street Poets is Australia’s oldest open mic, poetry reading and publishing group. Dedicated to promoting South Australian poetry, they host monthly readings and publish annual poetry anthologies.

friendlystreetpoets.org.au/publications...
The image has a dark blue background and is decorated with three cartoon roads. In the middle of the image, there is a squiggly black line containing green text that says: "FRIENDLY STREET POETS."
June 9, 2025 at 3:51 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Our newest newsletter is available on our Substack! In this issue we share exciting news and a special sneak peek at our (soon-to-be-launched!) DIY Publishing Toolkit 👀🥳

communitypubinregionalaus.substack.com/p/community-...
Community Publishing Newsletter - Issue 7
Exciting News, and an extract from our DIY Publishing Toolkit!
communitypubinregionalaus.substack.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:45 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Have a read of this Australian Society of Authors article by team member Roseleigh Priest! Roseleigh is exploring why regional authors write short stories.

www.asauthors.org.au/news/short-s...
Short story writing in regional Australia - Australian Society of Authors
Researcher Roseleigh Priest from University of Queensland explores the impact of short stories in regional Australia.
www.asauthors.org.au
May 1, 2025 at 6:41 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Laugh Out Loud - Funny Things DO Happen is a collection of true, funny short stories by author Duncan Russell. Duncan lives in Milang, South Australia, and the stories in this collection capture the fantastic humour of everyday life, the funny things that happen to all of us.
The image has a white background. On the right, there are two brown lines resembling paint. They contain text that says: "Duncan Russell, Laugh Out Loud." There is also a cartoonish 'HA!' A book cover is on the left of the image. It also has a white background, with brown text saying: "Laugh Out Loud, Duncan Russell." The 'O' in 'Out' is an illustrated donut.
April 24, 2025 at 7:32 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Check out this new article by team member Roseleigh Priest on the Grattan Street Press blog! Roseleigh writes about childrens publishing in regional Australia, with a spotlight on some amazing small publishers in Armidale, NSW.

grattanstreetpress.com/2025/04/02/i...
Is Regional Children’s Publishing an Unsung Hero of the Australian Book Industry?
By Roseleigh Priest When we think about the Australian children’s publishing industry, Melbourne and Sydney tend to take the limelight in terms of well-known houses: Allen and Unwin, Penguin Random…
grattanstreetpress.com
April 11, 2025 at 4:10 AM
communitypubinaus.bsky.social
Have a read of this Australian Society of Authors article by team member Caitlin Parker! Caitlin is sharing her observations about the amazing writing groups the team encountered in the Burdekin during fieldwork last year.

www.asauthors.org.au/news/the-val...
The value of writing groups: spotlight on the Burdekin, Queensland - Australian Society of Authors
Community Publishing in Regional Australia researcher, Caitlin Parker, shines the spotlight on the value of writing groups in Burdekin.
www.asauthors.org.au
April 3, 2025 at 5:35 AM