SJF my thoughts mirror yours.

Just a thought, does this mean we will have to put up with American spelling and idioms in Australian novels?

We will be changing diapers instead of nappies and going to theaters instead of theatres?

Sorry I'm just not getting this - so are you saying that all the money currently being gouged out of Australians is going to creative Australian story writers?

Why aren't we drowning in them then? Why isn't everyone talking about them? Why aren't these authors swimming in royalties?

I reckon you could double the gouge and still not notice.

The problem as has been already stated is that is not what people want, so they don't buy them so there is no demand.

The bookshops all rage about culture and protection, all for their own pockets - none of the $M makes it to the "aspiring authors" a couple thousand here and there at most, through taxes and state and the odd federal scheme. Do bookshops or chains give anything back? Really? How? Where? Do the publishers?

Please don't tell me the difference in book prices is all spent on helping the creative ones here!

Does anyone actually go out looking for Australian stories? I have a diverse interest and buy a lot of books, libraries tend to want them back so I avoid them now, all from online overseas bookshops. Well except the one for someone special last week, but that was from an Australian online bookshop, a second hand edition of a rare European book.

I know some aspiring writers, who work diligently at their real jobs but love to write and dream, they don't expect someone should pay them a living wage for it. (they're not very good and they know it, but it's a life)

Mind you I have seen one would be author on OLO who rages at the injustice of writing but not being published, there's a good reason for that - no one wants what that person writes.

I think some people who would like to be authors look in the mirror and see one, everyone else just sees them for what the really are.

What has culture to do with what I pay for a book?
I buy books because they are informative or entertaining,not because I must.
If I can get one for the cheapest price, I'll do so.
I choose from what's available. If a book is not available at a price I'm prepared to pay, then I'll choose another, or go without.
It's the law of supply and demand. Those imploring me to buy from them should first make sure that it is something I want at a price I want. Otherwise, don't bother.
Remember WIIFM.
What's in it for ME!

I see a new Oz musical.. Rent Seeking.

A young author writes a book that noone wants to read about topics noone cares about , gets it published thru a subsidy and protection arrangement, reviewed by a bunch of pig tailed half wits on Aunty who love the tale of sexual stirring in inner city drug affected Yoof, and it sells just enough to keep his NewStart rolling along.

Next we pay for it to become a movie, which noone sees, etc etc.

I heard the book retailers and book publishers go toe to to on this on radio. Bob Carr (who is on the Dymocks board) and the author of this piece, if I recall correctly. I recon Pericles and Boaz David would have more chance of agreeing on something.

When NZ did this one said book sales went up, the other said they went down. One said the number of NZ published books also went up, the other said the NZ publishing industry and the local authors they supported were destroyed. A while ago we did the thing we are planning to do with books now to CD's. Naturally one said there are more Australian CD's produced now than then. The other said there were less. Between them they made it impossible to sort out fact from fiction. It was like listening to kids screaming "Did - Did Not - Did Too - I Did Not ..." in a playground.

There is however one thing I do know from personal experience. It almost always cheaper for me to purchase a book overseas and pay for the freight for shipping that one item than it is to buy a book locally. That isn't the case for just about any other type of goods. To me, that means something is broken. It should always be cheaper for a local merchant to import something by the pallet load than I can do singularly. And whatever is causing that should be fixed.

I bet books don't go down in price. I heard the last Aussie business shirt maker to go offshore being interviewed some years ago. He said that having a cheaper product he told the big retailers that they could now sell his shirts for less. Oh no, they replied, people are used to the old price.

Why is price the most important criterion for everything? The world is filling up with cheap throw-away junk - easy come, easy go. We now have teenagers buying 'landfill fashion' - clothes so cheap they can wear them then throw them out. If we have the urge to read, we can borrow books for nothing from our local libraries, or from friends, or get them cheap from a second hand shop. The price of books is not an impediment to the acquisition of culture, it merely affects the acquisition of new books. Books are like good furniture or a work of art - they are long lasting, can be shared and passed down through the generations. A few extra dollars for the initial purchase is pretty small beer.