Horwitz Publications, Pulp Fiction and the Rise of the Australian Paperback

Andrew Nette has a PhD from Macquarie University and is an author of fiction and non-fiction.

“This fascinating and meticulously researched book tells a compelling story about the most successful independent Australian publisher, Horwitz, in the mid-20th century. Nette argues that Horwitz impacted the Australian book industry and Australian reading practices by its innovative adoption of merchandising practices and its ability to tread the fine line between feeding readers the salacious and sensationalist fare they wanted while keeping the censors at bay. This is a valuable and immensely readable story about the Americanisation of Australian popular fiction in the mid-twentieth century and the Australianisation of American genres at the same time.” —Hsu-Ming Teo, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Macquarie University, AUS.

• List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Pulp Jungles in Australia and Beyond; 1. ‘Mental Rubbish’ and Hard Currency: Import Restrictions and The Origins of Australia’s Pulp Publishing Industry; 2. Dreaming of America: Horwitz in the Early Post-War Period; 3. The Fiction Factory Expands: Horwitz in the Second Half of the 1950s; 4. ‘The Mighty U.S.A Paperback Invasion’: Horwitz and The Changing Metabolism of Australian Publishing in The Early 1960s; 5. The Female Fiction Factory; 6. Party Girls and Prisoners of War: The Australianisation of Horwitz Pulp in the 1960s; 7. Policing The ‘Literary Sewer’: Horwitz and The Censors; 8. Competing with The Sexual Spectacle: Horwitz and The Mainstreaming of The Erotic, 1967–1972; 9. ‘You’ve Got to Grab Their Attention’: Horwitz Cover Art; 10. The End of The Pulp Jungle; Bibliography; Index