Is the author you are reading right now Australian? If not, why not?

Former president Bill Clinton said one of his best summer reading was the DRY by Australian author Jane Harper – have you read it? What about multi-award-winning Trent Dalton and his Boy Swallows Universe?  

Australian authors are as good if not better than many of the international headline authors we see ever so constantly being promoted in Australia; and yet, when we walk into a bookstore what is the first thing we see? Grisham, Baldacci, Childs, Patterson or Cornwell books stacked high waiting for you to purchase.

Australian authors are generally stuck in a darkened corner somewhere.

Do we really have such a disdain for our stories and culture that we cannot read and promote our own Australian authors, and let’s face it, we have some of the best. Keneally, Carey, Hepworth and Treloar are just a few of the many writers putting their stories out there to the world for international readers; and yet, it seems it’s the Archers and the McEwans who sit on Australian bookshelves.

Take it from me it’s no easy task to get your story on a bookshelf in a store. It is hard, very hard. But for me, the biggest reward is never the sale of the book; rather, it’s authentic feedback from a reader who has enjoyed my story. For me, this is what makes a difference to a writer – having someone say they enjoyed the read, makes the effort in telling the story all the more worthwhile. 

But the sad truth is that unless Australian readers buy Australian authors to read before the highly promoted internationals then the challenge to get on the shelves becomes even harder for many authors.

We have Australian-made slogans on many of our food and clothing products to encourage consumers to buy local, but it seems Australian booksellers and publishers don’t share the same enthusiasm supporting Australian authors because identifying an Australian author can be hard sometimes. Perhaps Australian publishers should badge or label their authors in some way to help readers find them.

So when you next decide to wander into a bookstore why not ask to see the Australian authors. You may be surprised by the offering and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. 

Stories are important to us all and Australian stories build our culture – they just need to be read.