A QUEENSLAND publisher might have rejected the option of publishing former premier Campbell Newman’s memoir, but the book will go ahead thanks to a local publisher.
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A little controversy wasn’t enough to keep Ballarat’s Connor Court Publishing from getting the book on the shelves.
In February, the University of Queensland Press decided against publishing the memoir due to Mr Newman’s decision as premier to axe the Premier’s Literary Awards.
But Connor Court Publishing owner Dr Anthony Cappello said that, despite the controversy, he believed the book was worth publishing and would prove of interest to readers.
“There is a market for it; you have a premier of Queensland who hasn’t spoken about his defeat,” he said. “The controversy just adds to it and asks why did he lose the election?
“Those who won want to know if he is going to sulk, and the MPs up there in Queensland want to know where he went wrong.”
Dr Cappello said he believed the decision by the university to reject the memoir was political.
“I think it’s a bit of payback. You had Campbell, who had axed the literacy award when Victorian premier Ted Baillieu increased the award.”
This won’t be Dr Cappello’s first controversial book, with many authors coming to him with their contentious works. Over the past decade, Connor Court Publishing has published Cory Bernadi’s The Conservative Revolution, Ian Plimer’s Heaven and Earth: Global Warming, and the story of one of Australia’s most controversial storytellers, Christos Tsiolkas’ The Untold Story: His Life and his Work.
“We want to publish books that challenge the status quo ... I believe in free speech, opinion is good,” Dr Cappello said.
It is planned Mr Newman will visit Ballarat to launch his book in September.