When we last visited Text, the independent Australian publisher, they had just entered into a long-term relationship with British publisher Canongate. At the time, we hoped they’d blend their households with minimal fuss. The profile of Michael Heyward in The Age reassures us to the point we wish we were Australian (thus reviving long-dormant fantasies of working on sheep stations and running with kangaroos).
Though the article largely focuses on Heyward’s passion — which fairly leaps off the page — it also delves, briefly, into his editorial style:
“I often tell writers now what we’re going to do is a little bit like a rally and I’m the navigator and you’re the driver and there are going to be some really sharp bends and we’re going to fishtail and do all the rest of it and I’m going to be constantly suggesting to you how you might do this. But you’re the driver and if you don’t like the suggestion, we don’t do that. It doesn’t matter to me at all if editorially nothing that I suggest is adopted. What matters is the quality of the exchange; that’s what’s truly interesting about it.”
- A very passionate Text life (Note: registration required)
- When Publishers Co-Habitate
