Australian advertising magnate, John “Singo” Singleton is looking to launch an all-Australian publishing venture on Australia Day next year according to the Herald Sun.
Joining with the founder of the Macquarie Dictionary Kevin Weldon, the house will be called Australia’s Heritage Publishing and will start with 100 Australian classics, including Marcus Clarke’s For The Term Of His Natural Life and AB Facey’s A Fortunate Life. Weldon told the Herald Sun, “We’re going to publish six special reference books each year.”
Singleton believes the venture is also about saving printed books and slowing the charge of e-books. He told the paper, “We believe, rightly or wrongly, people still like to have a library.” The article notes that this year has been particularly difficult for the publishing industry with estimates that"revenues from book sales were down by about 5 per cent in the June half". A new publishing company could prove to be the ad man’s hardest sell.