Among them were predictable suggestions of inconsistent quality, derivative characterisation and lack of publisher support. Popular crime fiction author Peter Temple sees merit in Baranay's suggestion. I don't think it's possible to make a living out of crime fiction, publishing just in Australia. Most authors have to count on film options which aren't very much and the distant possibility that a film will be made. I don't think publishers promote crime fiction enough.
Crime writers are fringe dwellers in Australia, hanging out on the edges of literary fiction.
Peter Laurence, Ned Kelly Awards coordinator and former owner of Kill City, the specialist crime bookshop in Prahran, also tends to see the problem resting with publishers. All too often, he suggested, a talked-about debut crime novel leads to the author being given too free a rein by the publisher. The result is books that aren't very special, and a further erosion of the genre's standing. Consequently you might find some writers being published who aren't quite ready for it, who are not really that interesting. There is also a sense among publishers that crime is a niche market they often refer to that.