The cultural and commercial operations of the publishing industry have been dramatically reshaped by digital technologies, yet little is known about how these effects are differentiated across sectors of the industry. This article analyses data about the production of Australian-authored fantasy, romance and crime fiction titles to explore the specific publishing ecosystems of different genres and the roles played by multinational, small press and self-publishing in each. First, we show that there has been across-the-board growth in each genre and for each type of publisher. Second, we argue that multinational publishing activity in these genres has been characterized by broad stability, punctuated by experimentation with genre-specific imprints for romance and fantasy titles. Third, we find that small presses make diverse contributions to genre ecosystems, able to both activate prestige and experiment with formats. Finally, we note the immense growth in self-publishing, particularly in romance, and argue that self-publishing now operates in tandem with traditional publishing to create hybridized publishing ecosystems - with greater potential to transform the traditional publishing model than e-books.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	genre, fiction, publishing
Research Division:	Language, Communication and Culture
Research Group:	Literary Studies
Research Field:	Australian Literature (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Literature)
Objective Division:	Cultural Understanding
Objective Group:	Communication
Objective Field:	Languages and Literature
UTAS Author:	Fletcher, L (Associate Professor Lisa Fletcher)
UTAS Author:	Wilkins, K (Dr Kim Wilkins)
ID Code:	126256
Year Published:	2018
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Humanities
Deposited On:	2018-05-31
Last Modified:	2018-12-04
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