Books by Andrew Nette

The first book-length study of Sydney-based Horwitz Publications, the largest and most dynamic Australian pulp publisher to emerge after World War II. Although best known for its cheaply produced, sometimes luridly packaged, softcover books, Horwitz Publications played a far larger role in mainstream Australian publishing than has been so far recognised, particularly in the expansion of the paperback from the late 1950s onwards. Horwitz was adept at seeking out and exploiting the porous spaces that existed, sometimes only temporarily, between pulp and mainstream publishing: where mainstream literary forms were reconfigured to suit more sensational tastes, authorial reputation was fluid, and government regulation failed to keep pace with shifting reading tastes and social mores. Its dealings were aggressively transnational in scope, moving beyond London, to directly encompass the United States and other overseas fiction markets. And Horwitz continually mined international literary and publishing fashions and successes to create local analogues of popular pulp and mass-market publishing genres, giving them a makeover to align them with Australian cultural sensibilities, tastes and legislative environments.Horwitz Publications, Pulp Fiction and the Rise of the Australian Paperback examines the authorship, production, marketing and distribution of Horwitz pulp paperbacks. It includes ground-breaking material on the conditions of creative labour: the writers, artists and editors involved in the production of Horwitz pulp. The book also explores how Horwitz pulp paperbacks acted as a local conduit for the global modern: the ideas, sensations, fascinations, technologies, and people that came crashing into the Australia consciousness in the 1950s and 1960s. This is part of the larger story of Australian pulp fiction's role as an unofficial archive of changing tastes, ideas, controversies and debates about gender, race, class, youth, and economic and social mobility that occurred in 1950s and 1960s Australia.

Gary Chance is a former Australian army driver, ex-bouncer and thief. His latest job takes him to Surfers Paradise, Queensland, working for aging standover man, Dennis Curry. Curry runs off-site, non-casino poker games, and wants to rob one of his best customers, a high roller called Freddie Gao. The job seems straightforward but Curry's crew is anything but. Frank Dormer is a secretive ex-soldier turned private security contractor. Sophia Lekakis is a highly-strung receptionist at the hotel where Gao stays when he visits Surfers Paradise. Amber, Curry's female housemate, is part of the lure for Gao. Chance knows he can't trust anyone, but nothing prepares him for what unfolds when Curry's plan goes wrong. Praise for GUNSHINE STATE: "Part heist novel, part revenge tale, Gunshine State is a searing action story in exotic locales populated by fascinating grifters and unsavory characters. You won't know where it's going next but you'll love getting there. Add this to your must read list." -Eric Beetner, author of Criminal Economics and The Year I Died Seven Times "A tense, fast-moving, vividly-drawn thriller." -Garry Disher, author of the Wyatt novels "A gritty slice of Down-Under noir, served lean and mean." -Wallace Stroby, author of The Devil's Share and Shoot the Woman First "A phenomenal, hard-as-nails thriller with more tight corners than a maze and a double cross around every one of them. I loved it." -Timothy Hallinan, award-winning author of the Poke Rafferty and Junior Bender mysteries "A lean, mean, hard-boiled knockout." -David Whish-Wilson, author of Line of Sight and Zero at the Bone "Gunshine State moves like a bullet. The prose is taught without sacrificing atmosphere, character or psychological depth. Brimming with evocative settings, sharp dialogue and vibrant characters, this novel firmly positions Nette as one of Australia's leading writers of hard-boiled crime." -Alex Hammond, author of The Unbroken Line and Blood Witness "Gunshine State is magnificent. Taut, tense-a tremendous thriller." -Andrew Grant, author of False Positive and Run "Gunshine State is a breakneck ride from first page to last. Nette drags the reader into a sharply drawn world of dark motives and even darker morals. A must for lovers of hard-boiled crime fiction." -Emma Viskic, author of Resurrection Bay "This brutal, hard-boiled thriller comes at you like a furious street brawler and pins you to the wall with a white-knuckle plot and authentic characters. Like a vicious left hook to the ribs it will leave you breathless." -Leigh Redhead, author of Peepshow, Rubdown, Cherry Pie and Thrill City