A small and independent Brisbane trade publisher is bucking the national trend with many smaller publishers being gobbled up by corporate giants.

The latest case to cause some consternation in the publishing world was the purchase of Text Publishing by Penguin Random House, which is something akin to a hybrid corporate behemoth. This is a trend that has some in the literary world concerned about a lack of independent outfits, which tend to champion new writing.

Enter Carolyn Martinez and the little publisher that could – Hawkeye Publishing. From a small downstairs office at Stafford Heights (a suburb in Brisbane’s north not previously known as a powerhouse in the world of publishing) Martinez runs an outfit that prides itself on new authors and original fiction.

“There are not many trade publishers in Brisbane, ” explains Martinez when we catch up at a coffee shop nearby. “We have two rooms and a storage area at my house. Everyone loves working there.

“I have a small staff but I love the people I work with. It’s a low-margin industry, a tough game, but we do it because we love Australian stories. We’re publishing 10 to 15 books a year and have published around 40 altogether.”

The business grew out of Martinez’s former life as a journalist and editor. She ran a newspaper, The Westerner, which served the Samford and Dayboro region.

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“I called the company Hawkeye because we were keeping an eye on the truth,” she explains. “I kept the company name and it still suits us because we want to have a keen eye on quality Australian stories. We’re very proud of telling Australian stories by Australian authors.”

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Martinez has herself published eight books. That led to setting up her own business. She started out publishing her own books then helping other authors into print by editing their work. Ultimately, she decided to go into business as a publisher.

The business was tracking well until a hiccup following the collapse of distribution giant Booktopia Publisher Services in July 2024. But 2024 ended up being a good year with a total of 13 releases, two debut authors ranking on bookshop bestseller lists and a new deal with Australian distributor Woodslane.

‘For a small trade publisher … it was the stuff of nightmares’

“In the wake of the Booktopia collapse we found ourselves in make-or-break territory,” Martinez says. “The financial loss for us was deep. Our stock was unrecoverable and we were suddenly without a distributor. For a small trade publisher, running on the smell of an oily rag like we do, it was the stuff of nightmares. I lost plenty of sleep worrying about my authors and how I was going to tell them Hawkeye might have to call it a day. But the reputation we’ve been building over the past 12 years saved us and Woodslane did not hesitate to take us on. We haven’t looked back since and our sales into bookstores have tripled.”

As for the success of her authors, Queenslander Sarah Todman’s quirky Outback novel New Year’s Eve came in at number three on The Mad Hatter’s Bookshop’s Top 10 for 2024, while Jo Skinner’s family saga The Truth About My Daughter was in the top 10 over at iconic Brisbane bookshop Books@Stones.

“New Year’s Eve came out five months ago and it’s been getting rave reviews,” Martinez says. “It’s about a person who grows up in a country pub in Queensland, has to go away but eventually comes back to face everything she was running way from.”

Another acclaimed book of 2024 is by InReview’s classical music writer Gillian Wills. Her debut novel, Big Music, is set in a fictional Australian music school and, according to Martinez, offers unique insights into the world of music. Wills was dean of music at the Victorian College of the Arts and knows a thing or two about the vicissitudes of music education.

“I just loved the way Gillian was able to write about music,” Martinez says. Internationally renowned pianist Piers Lane says the book “pulses with experience of the musical world, fired by an intriguing imagination”.

Martinez has a good eye for new voices and unique stories. Past books published by Hawkeye include adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction. One series the publisher is particularly proud of is a series of children’s books written as tributes to our first responders and military heroes, the Remember Series by J.E. Miller.

Forthcoming books include the intriguingly titled 50 Ways to Die in Space by astrophysicist and science educator Eileen O’Hely, a graphic novel about space with flashes of humour, as indicated by the cheeky title.

Another new title to look out for in March is The Woman in the Waves by Camille Booker. It begins in 1921 in Widow’s Peak, a gloomy fishing village on the south coast of NSW. Nineteen-year-old Missy Green fills her days helping her fisherman father on his trawler and spending time with her grandfather, the town’s reclusive lighthouse keeper. It’s a dreary existence. Everything in her sea salt-soaked life is upended, though, when she glimpses something in the water – a mermaid ominously staring at her.

Now that sounds intriguing and the book has secured a worldwide audio and large-print deal with one of the globe’s biggest audiobook publishers.

“Exciting times for Hawkeye’s evolution and the team of volunteers and staff who’ve made it happen,” Martinez says. “I am thrilled to see our extraordinary and hard-working authors being recognised on bestseller lists. 2025 looks very promising.”

hawkeyebooks.com.au