LoveOzYA Committee Statement: Support local authors, support local businesses

After months of rumours and speculation, Amazon has officially opened its doors in Australia.

Now, after years of simply selling ebooks, Amazon.com.au has become a one-stop shop for many different things, including, of course, physical books by local authors.

While advocating the importance of reading and sharing the work of Australian YA authors is at the forefront of our mission, as book lovers not only do we support local authors, we also support local businesses. And we encourage others to do the same whenever they can.

In both the UK and the US, Amazon’s monopoly on the market led to the closure of thousands of independent bookshops.

Whether you love perusing the shelves of your neighbourhood bookshop or prefer browsing online from the comfort of your couch, by purchasing books by your favourite Aussie YA authors from home-grown retailers, you are helping to keep Australia’s literary landscape alive.

Every time you buy an OzYA book from an Aussie store, you’re supporting authors, booksellers, publishers and so many others. You’re paving the way for more books to be published too – not just by existing authors but also by exciting emerging writers we haven’t even heard of yet.  Think of how awesome that is.

Our books and our stories are wonderfully unique, but they cannot exist without the support of readers.

In her essay The Bookstore Strikes Back, Ann Patchett says: “Amazon doesn’t get to make all the decisions; the people can make them, by choosing how and where they spend their money.”

If you love Aussie YA, please be mindful that where you buy your books can make a huge difference to the future of our beloved OzYA community.

Find your local bookshop here.