Celebrate IP: 20th year anthology

Back in 1997, a publishing star was born out of the Big Bang collapse of the Penguin Australia Poetry Series. IP had been around for a few years before that as a publishing consultancy to business and government agencies, and so it was just a small step from Interactive Publications the consultancy to Interactive Press, our first literary imprint.


In those 20 years, many independent publishing ventures have come and gone, but IP has been more than a survivor – we've innovated. We were the first in Australia to publish to the Amazon Kindle and have established partnerships with global players like Apple, Google and Overdrive. While even the major players were text-bound, IP ventured into cross-arts publications as early as 2002, producing a Text + Audio Series, interactive multi-media, audio books and films.

We've done it all on the smell of the proverbial oily rag, and, through collaboration with our authors and artists, fine-tuned a business model that works for them as well as us. Significantly, we've never compromised on our standards, always insisting that the work we publish has to be the best it can be before we release it.

From our modest beginnings as a poetry publisher, we've now expanded to four imprints publishing authors from New Zealand and North America, as well as Australia.

Over the years, our titles have earned recognition in the State awards and Premier's Reading Challenges against stiff competition, and they continue to do so.

Now, as we enter our 20th year of business, it's time to celebrate not only IP's achievements, but IP as an emblem of what is possible for independent publishers even during challenging economic times.

The focus will be Celebrate IP: a 20th year anthology (tentative title, but you get the message). And we're inviting not only past and present IP authors, but all authors who want to celebrate the spirit of independent publishing, to submit their best work to us for possible inclusion in the anthology.

There will be two anthologies – a print version, and a digital one. The print edition will be more modest in length, while the digital one will not only be more inclusive but also open to cross media works.

There will be no cost to submit, and probably no payment (unless we can secure some grant funding).

Here are the guidelines:

• submissions must be in digital format: Word/Pages for text, mp3 for audio, .mov for video
• include your name, email and phone contact in the email with Celebrate IP in the suject line
• print submissions are limited to 4-6 poems, or 2 prose pieces (max. 2500 words each), either previously unpublished, or with permissions already cleared with existing publishers
• audio/video submissions must be 3 minutes maximum with a file name as follows: yourfullname_titleofwork.mp3 or .mov. In the case of audio readings/performances, please include a text version. You can send it/them via Dropbox invitation.
• the deadline for submission will be COB, 1 May 2017 for anticipated publication in September, 2017
• successful contributors will receive a free copy of the digital version and may order copies of the print edition at 50% of the cover price + freight
• a preliminary and final contents list will be posted on this blog, and no further correspondence will be entered into.

We look forward to your submissions and encourage you to spread the word.