Bethany Patch is a Melbourne-based writer and former union delegate at Penguin Random House Australia.
Bookstore workers in Australia are beginning to organize for better pay and conditions. They are already chalking up important wins in individual stores — but their aim is to transform conditions across the industry.
Workers in the book industry often suffer poor conditions and low pay, but are supposed to feel grateful for the privilege of working near books. Casting off such illusions is the first step to organizing publishers and booksellers, and fighting the exploitation that thrives in the hallowed culture industry.