Dictionary opens next chapter in Australian publishing

New publisher, Australia’s Heritage Publishing, looked offshore for the printing of its first book, a Signature Edition of the Macquarie Encyclopedic Dictionary, but has vowed to use a local printer wherever possible.

The independent publishing company, formed in 2010 by well-known publisher and businessman, Kevin Weldon, founder of the Macquarie Dictionary (pictured) with shareholders including John ‘Singo’ Singleton, Mark Carnegie, Trevor Kennedy and Greg Jones, claims on its website to “create great Australian works of integrity, quality and value”

According to Weldon, the idea behind the company was to “bring back some good books and see if we could get away from the drama of e-books taking over.” Rather than ignore e-books, the company instead offers an electronic version of the book with each of their printed ones.

“That is the solution in the future rather than making people choose one or the other,” Weldon told Print21.  “I doubt printed books will ever become obsolete, but people want to be educated and entertained and the text is up to the market.” He also predicts that the e-book is “a passing fancy” and will eventually be replaced with apps (applications).

Logistics was one of the reasons why the Macquarie Encyclopedic Dictionary (pictured) was printed overseas, Weldon explained. “All the material and the special paper was over there,” he said. “As we compete in the world, we need the best price for quality and some Australian printers can do it, while others can’t compete. We’d always like to get an Australian printer wherever possible.”

CEO of Printing Industries, Philip Andersen, believes that such a decision often comes down to the type of book being printed. “With such a product endorsed by former Prime Minister the Hon Bob Hawke, as an Australian icon, a signature edition marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Macquarie Dictionary and ‘the first dictionary written by Australians for Australians’ – it would seem logical to have attempted to have it printed in this country,” he said.

“However, we must recognise the commercial and production realities of case-bound book production in Australia.”

Australia’s Heritage Publishing is not the only Australian publisher who has its books printed overseas, however. Weldon asserted that in his previous roles in publishing, , including the role of managing director at Paul Hamlyn Group in Australia, he always used local printers. “I was one of the biggest customers of Griffin Press for years,” he said.

Though he has a strong background in publishing, Weldon is not afraid to do things differently. Aside from complementing print with electronic, the books are being sold through the company’s website, not in bookstores.

“Book stores are good and have their place, but we want to get to people who don’t go into them,” he said. “The major book outlets are suffering financial problems – will they survive? It’s very hard for retailers and there are too many titles produced that end up as unsellable returns.”

Response to the dictionary so far has been “overwhelming”, Weldon said. “Ten per cent of our purchases have been multi copies and we’re not even in a gift-giving period.”

More titles are expected from the publisher. Weldon said that when selecting which titles to publish he looked for “great books of great entertainment. You read the market and gage people’s interest."