Touting for Business: The Manufacture of Appeal in the Publishing and Marketing of Children’s Books in Australia

Abstract

Publishing structure and agency, and children’s publishing in particular, have received scant attention from researchers. Most research focuses on reception or creation, when the factors of production also yield valuable insights. Industry analysis has been impeded by the concentration upon the cultural or literary agenda implicit in publishing, creating the sometimes dangerous divide between so-called “literary”, and “commercial or mass market” publications. Publishing has often denied to “literature”, access to the mass market, and similarly has taken a high moral ground in refusing to acknowledge literary value to extremely popular works. This paper will, using the theories of Joseph Turow and Lewis Coser, examine the factors which influence the marketing and production of children’s books, suggest some of their manifestations in the Australian industry, and propose some possible future developments.