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The Conversation
The Conversation
Alice Grundy, Visiting Fellow, Australian National University

Who’s eating publishers’ lunch? The rising costs and shrinking margins of Australian books

Zamrznuti tonovi/Shutterstock

At the end of March 2025, Penguin Random House announced booming sales, with a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Even better, their profits rose 11.3%.

Reading this, you might think publishing is flourishing, but you will hear a very different story if you ask many Australian independent publishers. They will tell you it’s difficult to cover costs, let alone make profit.

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