Like many industries, the publishing world has seen significant changes occurring. Being in the business for 30 years, ATF Press co-founder Hilary D Regan knows this better than anyone. His middle initial could, in fact, stand for ‘Diversification’.
“As a publishing house, we started exclusively publishing academic works of theology in print. That world is long gone, with e‑publishing taking off a decade ago, and now it is the primary publishing type.
“Being an e‑publisher already meant that COVID did not challenge us too much. However, I never imagined that we would be holding virtual book launches. But that is what we had to do.
“There were technical challenges over the pandemic, and some audiences adapted to the virtual world better than others. Recording the launches and emailing them out has been a good strategy.
“The consecutive cancellation of international book fairs has been difficult. We would usually be at the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Buchmesse (book fair).
Executive Assistant Gabriel B Siqueira has yet to experience his first international book fair. With borders reopened, he looks forward to the Frankfurt Buchmesse on 19 – 23 October 2022.
“This is where we experience the global direction that publishing is taking. We use this knowledge so our clients can benefit.”
Hilary shares that ATF Press has also diversified in the subject matter that they publish.
“We published the beautiful At the End of the River: The Coorong and Lower Lakes by David Paton in 2010. Since then, we have been honoured to publish incredible works like The Birds of Kangaroo Island by Chris Baxter (deceased). Now we are working on a beautiful collection of wineries and produce from the island.
“We are the publisher of the International Journal of Space Studies through the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France and the University of South Australia (UniSA). This journal has been going for a number of years. Adelaide has an essential role in the global space industry, and also in students being part of Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program with UniSA/ISU, and we want more people to know that we are part of that.
“Ultimately, we’re all about storytelling. We want to publish books about South Australian companies with a long and rich history in the state. This is why being a member of the South Australian Business Chamber is so important to us as we want to meet other members and help share their stories.”
