I became aware of this Australian publisher whilst I was researching the post I wrote on Minister Carr’s remarks to a Symposium of Australian Industry Leaders, and mentioned that I would be writing a post about them soon.

Well it has happened a bit sooner than I planned.  I Googled them, and found that they appeared in an impressive number of hits – though most of the hits started off with their Mission Statement, so there was a certain monotony to the extracts for those hits.

A very interesting and diverse publisher:

But, I soldiered on and checked a large number of those hits, and became steadily more interested as I did so. These people publish an amazing range of books – the great majority having in one way or another, to do with Feminist issues all around the world.  An extremely catholic collection of thoughts and ideas are being promulgated by these good people down there in Melbourne.  I for one, wish them all success in their endeavors.

As most comments on this Publishing House seem to do,  I shall also quote their Mission Statement, as it sums up their vision remarkably well….

So here it comes………………

Spinifex Press is an independent Australian feminist press that was co-founded in 1991 by Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein. We publish innovative and controversial feminist books with an optimistic edge. Our namesake is an Australian desert grass that holds the earth together.

Spinifex titles cover a wide range of subjects from politics to mythology, humour to international relations, ecology to relationships, literary fiction to cultural critique, women’s health to poetry, as well as specialist lists on African, Asian and lesbian writing. We have published writers from every continent including Indigenous authors from many countries.

Our reach is from the local to the international, and we have distribution in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Britain.

Always technologically innovative, Spinifex was one of the first Australian publishers to tackle the challenge of digital publishing, and around 80% of our books are available as eBooks.

I particularly liked the comparison between their ideals and the grass they have chosen to name themselves after, a nice idea.

Why am I reviewing this Publisher?

I should say that one of the main reasons I am reviewing Spinifex is that they have – as stated in their Mission Statement -  fully embraced the idea of eBooks, and are acting as a sort of avant guard in Australia in this area.  As many of you will know, Australian publishers are having a great deal of difficulty accepting the whole concept of eReaders and eBooks and are resisting with might and main being dragged into this new development.

Another reason I wanted to draw attention to them (not that they require any support, they are doing splendidly enough already) is that word “humour” in the Statement.   All too often Feminist matters are treated with a high degree of solemnity, so a lighter approach is welcome – as with the Vagina Monologues – as it gives one a jolt, and forces one to see these very real problems in a fresh way.

I also like very much their support for “indigenous” writers, particularly women writers from areas that don’t normally have the possibility of seeing their work being published.

A brief digression………….

As a European I have always had a bit of a problem with the word “indigenous”, as, rather like Aboriginal, it merely means “original inhabitants”, thus should I write anything in Britain, it would then be the work of an indigenous writer.  But I was always a dogmatic boor when it comes to the use of words and their meanings……………..

How do I buy and download books from them?

Couldn’t be simpler, you simply go to their website (link below) and buy the book(s) of your choice directly from them.

What formats do they offer?

They offer their books in the following formats, which between them pretty well cover the full range of eReaders:

Mobi Pocket Reader

Microsoft reader

Adobe reader (ePub, among others)

DX reader.

To sum up this brief post about a remarkable Publisher:

If you are in any way interested in the work of women writers, or are simply looking for a different source of good books, I can recommend this publisher without reservation as being worth looking at.

Link to their website:  http://spinifexpress.com.au/

Share with us:

If you have bought any books from Spinifex, I would be very happy if you would care to give me a review of them that I can then post here for others to read, and perhaps go out and buy for themselves.