Transit Lounge Publishing is an independent Australian literary

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

founded in Melbourne in 2005. It publishes literary fiction, narrative and trade non-fiction. The books it publishes show the diversity of Australian culture. Distribution is by NewSouth. Transit Lounge was founded by two librarians, Barry Scott and Tess Rice. The first book they published was ''Sing, and Don’t Cry: A Mexican Journal'' by

Cate Kennedy Cate Kennedy (born 1963) is an Australian author based in Victoria. Life and career Kennedy graduated from the University of Canberra and has also taught at several colleges, including The University of Melbourne. She is the author of the h ...

. In 2011 they published ''Tales from the Cancer Ward,'' a memoir by filmmaker Paul Cox. It is a member of the Small Press Network, a group of small and independent Australian publishers.

Selected award-winning books

*''The English Class'' (2010) by Ouyang Yu, winner of the Multicultural Award at the 2011

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

*''Exile: The Lives and Hopes of Werner Pelz'' (2012) by Roger Averill, winner of the Non-fiction book at the 2012

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the West ...

*''

Black Rock White City ''Black Rock White City'' (2015) is the debut novel of Australian writer A. S. Patrić. It won the Miles Franklin Award in 2016. Plot In the late 1990s Jovan, a writer and academic in Serbia, and his wife Suzana are refugees living in Melbour ...

'' (2015) by

A. S. Patrić A. (Alec) S. Patrić is an Australian novelist and short story writer. Patrić was born in Zemun, Serbia and migrated to Australia with his family when he was still a child. He won the 2016 Miles Franklin Award for his debut novel '' Black Roc ...

, winner of the 2016

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879– ...

and his subsequent books ''Atlantic Black'' (2017) and ''The Butcherbird Stories'' (2018) *''

From the Wreck ''From the Wreck'' is a 2017 historical and science fiction novel by Australian writer Jane Rawson. It was first published as a paperback original in March 2017 in Australia by Transit Lounge Publishing. The book is based on the 1859 shipwre ...

'' (2017) by

Jane Rawson Jane Rawson is an Australian writer and environmentalist. She has published four books, and is best known for her 2017 novel ''From the Wreck'', which won the Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel. In 2018 Rawson was a recipient of the ...

, winner of the 2017 Aurealis Award for best science fiction novel, shortlisted for both the

Barbara Jefferis Award The Barbara Jefferis Award is an Australian literary award prize. The award was created in 2007 after being endowed by John Hinde upon his death to commemorate his late wife, author Barbara Jefferis. It is funded by his $1 million bequest. Origi ...

2018 and the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction in 2017 *''Soon'' (2017) by

Lois Murphy Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Chris ...

, winner of the 2017 Aurealis Award for best horror novel *''The Hunter and Other Stories of Men'' by David Cohen, winner of the 2019 Russell Prize *''Real Differences'' (2019) by S. L. Lim, winner of the 2020

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards *''Revenge: Murder in three parts'' (2020) by S. L. Lim, winner of the 2022

Authors

Other authors of books published by Transit Lounge include Justine Ettler,

Mark Holden Mark Ronald Holden (born 27 April 1954) is an Australian singer, actor, TV personality, record producer, songwriter, and barrister. He was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (May 1976 ...

, Patrick Holland, Angela Savage,

Philip Salom Philip Salom (born 8 August 1950) is an Australian poet and novelist, whose poetry books have drawn widespread acclaim. His 14 collections of poetry and four novels are noted for their originality and expansiveness and surprising differences fr ...

, Aaron Smith, Nike Sulway,

Vicki Viidikas Vicki Viidikas (25 September 1948 – 27 November 1998) was a twentieth-century Australian poet and prose writer. Her first poem, ''At East Balmain,'' was published when she was 19 years old. Her poetry, fiction and drawings were published i ...

, Sonya Voumard Geraldine Wooller and

Cyril Wong Cyril Wong (; born 27 June 1977) is a poet, fiction author and literary critic. Biography Born in 1977, Cyril Wong attended Saint Patrick's School, Singapore, and Temasek Junior College, before completing a doctoral degree in English literature ...

References

{{Reflist Book publishing companies of Australia Small press publishing companies Publishing companies established in 2005