Norstrilia Press

Norstrilia Press is an Australian independent small press based in St Kilda, Victoria. Established in 1975 by Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie, and Carey Handfield, the press was created shortly before Aussiecon, the first World Science Fiction Convention held in Australia. Its founding context placed it within the country’s developing science-fiction and fantasy community, where specialist readers, writers, editors, and fan organizations were seeking outlets for work that commercial publishers were less likely to accept. The press’s stated editorial purpose has been to publish science fiction, fantasy, critical essay collections, and other genre-related or otherwise difficult-to-place works. This remit has allowed Norstrilia Press to operate outside the scale and commercial priorities of large publishing houses. Its list has included anthologies, original fiction, poetry, literary criticism, essays about science-fiction writers, works connected with Australian speculative-fiction culture, and books documenting fandom and literary history. The name Norstrilia comes from the fictional planet in the future-history stories of Cordwainer Smith, the American science-fiction author who lived in Australia for a period. In Smith’s fictional universe, Norstrilia is associated with “Old North Australia.” The name therefore signals the press’s relationship with science fiction while also connecting it to an Australian cultural setting. Early publications included Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd, edited by Bruce Gillespie, and The Altered I: An Encounter with Science Fiction, edited by Lee Harding. The catalogue expanded to include works by or associated with writers such as George Turner, Damien Broderick, Roger Zelazny, Gerald Murnane, Greg Egan, and Jay Bland. Several titles demonstrate the press’s broad interpretation of genre publishing: alongside science-fiction stories and novels, it issued essays, poetry, literary experiments, and works engaging with Australian writing. Norstrilia Press’s publicly documented publishing activity spans several decades. Its early and mid-period list included influential Australian speculative-fiction and literary titles such as The View From the Edge, The Dreaming Dragons, The Stellar Gauge, The Plains, An Unusual Angle, In the Heart or in the Head, and Landscape with Landscape. Later documented releases include Stephen Dedman’s Charm, Strangeness, Mass and Spin, Rob Gerrand’s The Millennium Job, Janeen Webb and Andrew Enstice’s Aliens & Savages: The Voice in Australia, John Clute’s The Book Blinders, and Leigh Edmonds’s Proud and Lonely. The available record presents Norstrilia as a specialist cultural publisher rather than a mass-market house. Its importance lies in preserving and circulating genre writing, criticism, archival perspectives, and Australian science-fiction history. The press’s continued appearance in bibliographic records and its website indicate ongoing activity, although detailed information about its current ownership, staff, annual output, distribution arrangements, and financial performance is not publicly established in the supplied sources.

Norstrilia Press was established in 1975 in Australia by Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie, and Carey Handfield. Its creation came shortly before Aussiecon, the first World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Australia, and was closely aligned with the growth of Australian science-fiction publishing and fandom. The press was designed as a small-scale alternative to mainstream publishing, with an editorial focus on books that commercial houses might consider too specialized, experimental, or commercially uncertain. Its programme has covered science fiction, fantasy, critical writing, anthologies, poetry, and related literary and cultural material. The press’s name was drawn from Cordwainer Smith’s fictional planet Norstrilia, a reference that gave the imprint an explicit connection to speculative fiction. Smith, an American author who spent part of his life in Australia, described Norstrilia as the future name of “Old North Australia” in his fictional universe. The first documented title was Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd, edited by Bruce Gillespie, published in 1975. Subsequent titles included Lee Harding’s The Altered I: An Encounter with Science Fiction in 1976 and George Turner’s The View From the Edge: A Workshop of Science Fiction Stories in 1977. The list then broadened through the 1970s and 1980s. It included Keith Antill’s The Moon in the Ground, Damien Broderick’s The Dreaming Dragons: A Time Opera, the essay collection The Stellar Gauge, Roger Zelazny’s poetry collection Where Pussywillows Last in the Catyard Bloomed and Other Poems, Jay Bland’s Lavington Pugh, Gerald Murnane’s The Plains, the anthology Dreamworks: Strange New Stories, Greg Egan’s An Unusual Angle, George Turner’s In the Heart or in the Head: An Essay in Time Travel, and Gerald Murnane’s Landscape with Landscape. This list shows that Norstrilia’s publishing identity was never limited to conventional genre novels. It combined original speculative fiction with criticism, poetry, workshop anthologies, experimental writing, and books by authors whose work crossed the boundaries between literary fiction and genre. The press consequently became a vehicle for Australian speculative writing and for international or historically significant material that benefited from specialist editorial treatment. The documented catalogue resumes in the 2020s with publications including Stephen Dedman’s Charm, Strangeness, Mass and Spin and Rob Gerrand’s The Millennium Job in 2022; Janeen Webb and Andrew Enstice’s Aliens & Savages: The Voice in Australia in 2023; and John Clute’s The Book Blinders: Annals of Vandalism at the British Library and Leigh Edmonds’s Proud and Lonely: A History of Science Fiction Fandom in Australia. Part One: 1930–1961 in 2024. These later titles continue the imprint’s interest in speculative literature, criticism, libraries, fandom, and the history of Australian science-fiction culture. Norstrilia Press is based in St Kilda, Victoria. Publicly available information identifies it as a small press and provides evidence of continuing publishing activity, but does not establish a detailed account of its corporate structure, current management, distribution network, revenue, or ownership. Its documented historical role is best understood as that of a specialist Australian publisher supporting science fiction and adjacent literary and cultural work.

• 2024

  Publications on literary and fandom history

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The documented list includes John Clute’s The Book Blinders and Leigh Edmonds’s history of Australian science-fiction fandom.

• 2022

  Return of documented catalogue activity

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The press publishes Stephen Dedman’s Charm, Strangeness, Mass and Spin and Rob Gerrand’s The Millennium Job.

• 1983

  Publication of An Unusual Angle

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Norstrilia Press publishes Greg Egan’s An Unusual Angle.

• 1980

  Expansion into fiction, poetry, and criticism

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The catalogue includes The Dreaming Dragons, The Stellar Gauge, and Roger Zelazny’s poetry collection, illustrating the breadth of the imprint’s genre programme.

• 1975

  Norstrilia Press is established

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Rob Gerrand, Bruce Gillespie, and Carey Handfield establish the press before Aussiecon, the first World Science Fiction Convention held in Australia.

• 1975

  First documented publication

  [1]Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The press publishes Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd, edited by Bruce Gillespie.

A specialist Australian small press for science fiction, fantasy, genre criticism, literary experimentation, and works documenting speculative-fiction culture that may not fit the priorities of larger commercial publishers.

• Science-fiction criticism and essays · 1975

  Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd

  An edited volume focused on Philip K. Dick, published as Norstrilia Press’s first documented title in 1975. Its appearance established the press’s interest in serious critical and interpretive engagement with science-fiction writers.

• Science-fiction anthology or criticism · 1976

  The Altered I: An Encounter with Science Fiction

  Edited by Lee Harding and published in 1976, this volume reflects the press’s early commitment to encounter-based, critical, and anthology-style treatments of speculative fiction.

• Science-fiction anthology · 1977

  The View From the Edge: A Workshop of Science Fiction Stories

  Edited by George Turner and published in 1977, this collection presents workshop-oriented science-fiction writing and represents Norstrilia’s role in supporting specialist literary communities.

• Science-fiction fiction · 1980

  The Dreaming Dragons: A Time Opera

  Damien Broderick’s 1980 work demonstrates the press’s willingness to publish ambitious and formally distinctive speculative fiction rather than restricting its list to conventional genre formats.

• Science-fiction criticism · 1980

  The Stellar Gauge: Essays on Science Fiction Writers

  Edited by Michael J. Tolley and Kirpal Singh, this 1980 essay collection examines science-fiction writers and exemplifies Norstrilia’s long-standing interest in critical and scholarly genre publishing.

• Literary fiction · 1982

  The Plains

  Gerald Murnane’s The Plains, published by Norstrilia Press in 1982, illustrates the imprint’s broader literary reach beyond narrowly defined science fiction and fantasy.

• Speculative fiction · 1983

  An Unusual Angle

  Greg Egan’s 1983 title is part of the press’s documented Australian speculative-fiction catalogue and reflects its support for emerging or distinctive genre writing.

• Literary fiction · 1985

  Landscape with Landscape

  Published in 1985, Gerald Murnane’s Landscape with Landscape further demonstrates the press’s interest in literary work that can sit between mainstream literary fiction and speculative or experimental traditions.

• Australian science-fiction criticism and cultural history · 2023

  Aliens & Savages: The Voice in Australia

  Written by Janeen Webb and Andrew Enstice and published in 2023, this title examines the voice of science fiction in Australia and aligns with Norstrilia’s interest in documenting national genre culture.

• Literary and library criticism · 2024

  The Book Blinders: Annals of Vandalism at the British Library

  John Clute’s 2024 book extends the press’s publishing activity into literary, bibliographic, and library-related cultural criticism.

• Science-fiction fandom history · 2024

  Proud and Lonely: A History of Science Fiction Fandom in Australia. Part One: 1930–1961

  Leigh Edmonds’s 2024 history documents the early decades of Australian science-fiction fandom, reinforcing the press’s role in preserving the country’s speculative-fiction heritage.

1. 1Norstrilia Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Norstrilia Press official websitenorstriliapress.com