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.
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-...
12.12.2025 01:13 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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
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.
02.12.2025 00:32 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
YouTube video by Australian Book Lovers
Australian Book Lovers Ep#156 featuring researcher Dr Alexandra Dane
Click the link or (or go to your favourite podcast app) to listen to Alex talk about our book and some Community Publishing research highlights now!
youtu.be/5F9oHPXo7To?...
02.12.2025 01:01 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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.
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 🤩
02.12.2025 01:01 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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...
18.11.2025 13:14 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
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 🤩
20.11.2025 23:44 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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
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.
11.11.2025 02:59 — 👍 2 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 1
Interested in attending the symposium but don't feel like presenting? Keep your eyes peeled on our pages over the next few weeks - we'll have registration details for you soon 👀
10.10.2025 06:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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
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.
10.10.2025 06:00 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Closing soon💥🎉 Get your abstracts in tomorrow!
09.10.2025 02:56 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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.
Our latest journal article has been published and is available to read now!
02.10.2025 02:47 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
The team also recently attended multiple academic conferences, and published our first peer-reviewed academic paper from this project.
Click through to read now!
12.09.2025 05:53 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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!
12.09.2025 05:53 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
This is the first peer-reviewed article arising from our Community Publishing in Regional Australia research project! The article is published in the European Journal of Cultural Studies, and is co-authored by Beth Driscoll, Alexandra Dane, Sandra Phillips and Kim Wilkins.
25.08.2025 06:12 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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.
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...
25.08.2025 06:12 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Phillip Leighton-Daly
Bringing History to Life Through Words
Go check out his latest book, Against the Tide, which promises river battles and burning cities and whispered alliances in the shadows—a relentless story of resilience, revenge, and the unbreakable will to defy fate. phillipleightondaly.com
01.08.2025 04:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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
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.’
01.08.2025 04:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Elephant Page
So far, they have one publication out, Henry the Wombat Learns to Budget, an adorable picture book that can teach kids about responsible saving. We’re looking forward to seeing what else this new press achieves!
www.elephantpagepublishing.com.au
18.07.2025 04:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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.
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.”
18.07.2025 04:41 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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"
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...
04.07.2025 06:01 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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."
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
23.06.2025 07:19 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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."
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!
16.06.2025 08:32 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Sounds 🎙️ and Ideas 💡 for Sydney (Eora) 📍 on your local community radio. Guests on unceded Gadigal Land.
A podcast from the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing. Season 2 releasing now, with new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays!
Listen here: https://podfollow.com/editsannotations/view
Authora Australis, blind review poetry, stories, artwork. Insta: @authoraoz Eds: @rpatulny.bsky.social @psycarlogy.bsky.social
Writer. Burial Rites, The Good People, Devotion.
A new critical literary space designed to explore themes relevant to a history of Australian literary criticism, supported by the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing.
✉️exhume.lit@gmail.com
James Cook University's College of Arts, Society and Education (CASE) reflects and shapes the social, economic, environmental and political factors that define Northern Australia and the tropical Asia-Pacific - the place that defines our teaching.
the working-class woman in fiction.
https://substack.com/@workingclassgal
She/Her. Academic @ UniMelb 🫠 I am a feminist media studies researcher who examines postfeminism, young people, & pop culture.
Writer, magazine publisher, bad gardener.
Based in France.
killyourdarlings.com.au
PhD candidate at @JCU ➡️ literary #MeToo representations, past
@slqld research fellow, book nerd, zinemaker, cat lady, and animal welfare advocate 🐾🏳️🌈🍉
Writer & Freelance Journalist. Author of mindflexing.com.au and the Mind Flexing Sound Bites podcast. Living on Dhudhuroa land in the foothills of Australia's snow country.
Celebrating and supporting Australian #writers and #readers. A free platform full of Australian authored books. And a fabulous free podcast hosted by @VeronicaStrachan.bsky.social & @writerLaurieBell.bsky.social
#ReadMoreAussieBooks #AusWrites #booksky
#EWF26 10-18 Sept 2026
💌 Join our newsletter
🕸️: emergingwritersfestival.org.au/
The latest writing on arts, culture and society from across Australia, along with resources and awards for writers.
Author: JOAN SMOKES, A SUPERIOR SPECTRE, MOON SUGAR ✨ writing & publishing lecturer ✨ former publisher & bookseller✨ bi ✨ https://linktr.ee/AngelaMeyer
Join us at #NWF2026 from 27-29 March
linktr.ee/newcastlewritersfestival
Award-winning First Nations publisher based in the remote town of Rubibi (Broome), Western Australia. #MagabalaBooks
📍Unceded Yawuru & Jugan Country
Publishes research on library science and information research and practice within the Australian and Southern Asia Pacific regions.
Current issue is here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ualj21/current
