Reading local is mutually beneficial, let me tell you why…
“Reading connects us with ideas and stories; it sparks joy, improves wellbeing and enhances our feeling of connectedness with local and global communities. Reading the many and varied stories and perspectives brought to life through literature helps us shape and express Australian identity.” — 2023 National Arts Participation Survey.
Reading Australian authors should be fairly straightforward, but defining an Australian author can get surprisingly complicated. Does someone have to have lived here their whole life? Does moving to Australia count? And what about the authors who have been telling stories on this continent for tens of thousands of years?
Personally, I’d argue that anyone who writes a book in Australia, or perhaps about Australia? Deserves a place in the conversation. That doesn’t mean every book about Australia is automatically Australian literature, but it’s a pretty good starting point. So, now that we’ve opened that can of literary worms, why should you read local?
Your bookshelf can make a difference.
Buying books by Australian authors helps support the people creating our stories, particularly independent and emerging writers. For an indie author, selling a book can be a genuinely momentous occasion. Some authors watch their pre-orders with the intensity of someone waiting for exam results. Every purchase matters. And if you buy from an independent Australian bookshop, your money is supporting local businesses! You might even discover a tiny bookshop with a dangerously good staff-picks shelf. Supporting local literature can be a lovely little chain reaction: one book, several happy humans.
But what about your brain?
For me, this is where things get interesting. Reading fiction isn’t just an opportunity to escape into another world; it can also give us a chance to explore someone else’s. Stories may help us practice understanding other people’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations. Now imagine applying that idea to stories set close to home. Australian novels can explore landscapes we recognise, social tensions we’ve witnessed, slang we’ve actually heard, and histories that have shaped the communities around us. Familiar settings can make a story feel personal, while unfamiliar perspectives challenge what we assumed we already knew.
There’s something valuable about reading beyond our own experience. A novel can introduce us to a life, community, or historical event we might never encounter otherwise. And if you’ve ever argued passionately about a fictional character with a friend, you already know that books can be excellent conservation starters.
So, next time you’re browsing your local bookshop, why not pick up an Australian author you’ve never tried? You might support an emerging writer, discover a new favourite, learn something unexpected about the place you call home — and find yourself with plenty to talk about afterwards.
Your TBR pile probably won’t thank you. But, your local literary community might!
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