How Two Women Changed Australian Publishing in 1975

When Hilary McPhee and Diana Gribble announced their publishing venture in 1975, the men running Australia's book industry had advice: stick to pornography, horses, or ballet books.

Instead, these two young feminists in Melbourne created McPhee Gribble Publishers and changed Australian literature forever. McPhee, who died in October 2026, became the editor who discovered Helen Garner and Tim Winton, two of Australia's most beloved authors.

Before starting her own house, McPhee had worked at Penguin and Heinemann, learning the craft of publishing in a male-dominated field. Her partner Diana Gribble brought equal passion for elevating Australian voices that traditional publishers ignored.

Their first success came with Practical Puffins, a children's series published through Penguin. But their real revolution began when they turned to adult fiction and nonfiction, actively seeking out women writers and stories reflecting authentic Australian life.

Writer Carmel Bird remembers climbing the stairs to McPhee's office in a converted sewing factory on Cecil Street in Fitzroy. There, sitting on a small couch over coffee, McPhee would edit manuscripts with her trademark 2B pencil and eraser, discussing every mark face to face with her authors.

"She was, need I say, a brilliant editor. Legendary," Bird writes. In their 14 years together before selling to Penguin in 1989, McPhee and Gribble built something extraordinary.

They broke new ground in 1984 by publishing "An Aboriginal Mother Tells of the Old and the New" by First Nations woman Elsie Labumore. Their feminist reputation came from championing voices the industry had sidelined for decades.

After the sale, McPhee continued shaping Australian literature as head of Picador at Pan Macmillan until 1994. She published "The First Stone" by Helen Garner and "The Riders" by Tim Winton during those years.

Why This Inspires

McPhee's influence extended beyond her editorial desk. She became the first woman chair of the Australia Council for the Arts from 1994 to 1997, opening doors for others to follow.

Her path wasn't easy. Bird recalls an afternoon when McPhee arrived in tears after a writer publicly criticized her editing decades later. The powerful publisher revealed her fragile side, showing that courage means pushing forward despite pain.

McPhee experienced profound personal loss, including the death of her two-day-old son from her first marriage. She wrote about stroking his little red limbs in her 2019 memoir "Other People's Houses," sharing grief she'd carried privately for years.

Through three marriages and raising three children, McPhee maintained her commitment to Australian voices. She received an Order of Australia in 2001 for her service to literature and the arts.

Her legacy lives in every Australian story that finds its audience, every voice that refuses to be silenced by gatekeepers who don't understand its value.