Puncher & Wattmann

Puncher
Puncher & Wattmann is an independent publisher of quality Australian writing. Since 2005, we have published anthologies and many award-winning books of poetry, novels, biography and critical non-fiction.

Awards for Puncher & Wattmann Books

Our books have been shortlisted or won most of the major literary prizes in the country. Most recently, Julie Chevalier's Darger: His Girls and Bonny Cassidy's Certain Fathoms were shortlisted for the WA Premier's Prize for Poetry and in 2012 Toby Fitch's Rawshock was awarded the Grace Leven Prize for Poetry.

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The P&W website

Welcome to the P&W website. Make sure you spend some time checking out our book pages - we have samples available from most book, as well as links to reviews. 

And check out our blog too - each month or so a guest P&W author will be posting their thoughts. Philip Salom started things off, followed by (soon to be revealed)!!.

The P&W newsletter

Register to this site to receive the P&W email newsletter and add comments to the Blog.

Events

P&W Christmas Party Dec 1. Great to see Melbourne hipsters, Vic region and P&W afficionados in one happy throng. Terrific readings from Ken Bolton, Les Wicks, Jill Jones, Cameron Lowe and David Prater. We love the Bella Union bar at Trades Hall  - very cool on a hot day..

Early birds, P&W Christmas party

Cool folk and early birds, P&W Christmas party

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What's coming next?

Forthcoming Titles

We have two new books this September: Xn, by Carol Jenkins and Tempo by Sarah Day. Check in our events section for launch details

In October, we will be launching Capital by Alan Gould and New Selected Poems by Geoff Page.

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Barry Wattmann

Barry Wattmann is a retired welterweight boxing champion of Tasmania. He was a freelance strategist during the poetry wars, serving on both sides with distinction.

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From the P&W Blog...

Narrowness (and Breadth)

There can never be any agreed-upon set of standards or values in the wide-ranging and contested poetics at any particular time. Of course not. Consensus is not even desirable. But narrowness of reading, reviewing and especially judging, is a significant worry. What this indicates, reduced to the worry, is a widespread inability, or unwillingness, or both, in the readiness and capacity to read and assess with any broad sense of justice.

From the entry The Thick ... and Thin of it

Comment

I think my next bio will consist entirely of a list of prizes I have not won, starting with the Blake Prize, and including the Newcastle.  It will work up to the delightful frisson of not...

From the entry The Thick ... and Thin of it