A million or more words — more than 160 substantial titles of Australian authorship, including six winners of the Miles Franklin Award — returned to print as part of the three-year “Untapped” project, which wrapped up recently. The program reintroduced works from acclaimed authors including Thea Astley, Mem Fox, Charmian Clift, Anita Heiss and Dorothy Porter, and Garry Disher’s crime series, “Wyatt.”
A collaboration between researchers from Melbourne Law School and Macquarie Business School, authors, literary agents, libraries and the Australian Society of Authors, the project digitized these works long forgotten, rendering them available to modern audiences. The books raked in big money for authors via digital sales, library lending royalties and fresh interest in print editions.
The “Untapped Potential” report found that the 66 original diverse works, which earned no income, were loaned 15,688 times in a single year, led by Gary Disher’s “Kickback” with 1,744 loans. The resurgence also fueled appetite for digital editions, selling 6,000 copies a year on platforms like Amazon, Apple and Kobo.
This campaign emphasises the need for copyright reform in Australia to enable authors to be compensated for their works. With median author earnings at only $18,200 per year, such endeavors are a welcome addition to writers’ livelihoods.
