Lessons of pain and publishing

AUTHOR Michael Winkler has had many journal articles, books and reviews published in his time as a writer, but his latest book Grimmish presented the biggest challenge in his career.

The book tells the incredible tale of Joe Grim, a 20th century boxer known as the human punching bag for his ability to absorb huge amounts of pain without being knocked out.

Winkler said he first heard of Grim when he was a child and discovered he had spent some time in Australia.

“Initially I thought to write a non-fiction book, but my research uncovered that there’s not a lot of information about his time in Australia,” he said.

“I decided I had to write it in a different way, it became this hybrid of fiction and non-fiction, memoir and whatever else is in there.”

But when no mainstream publisher showed any interest in the book, Winkler hit a roadblock.

“My agent took it to every credible publisher he could think of, and no one wanted to publish it,” he said. “I had a think and decided to self-publish, even though that’s a difficult route to go down.”

After self-publishing, the book ended up on several book of the year lists, and will be re-published by Puncher & Wattman.

Winkler said the “experimental” book is the “most creatively daring thing” and he will tell the story of not only the content matter, but his genre-bending style at this month’s Bendigo Writers’ Festival.

One session will discuss pain and how the experience is expressed in writing, while the second will ask whether the designations of fiction and non-fiction are out of date.

“I think there’s so much to be gained from breaking the rules and bringing together the best ideas from non-fiction and fiction and creating hybrids that excite readers,” he said.

Winkler will join fellow authors at the Bendigo Writers’ Festival on Thursday, 12 May to Sunday, 15 May. For tickets head to bendigowritersfestival.com.au.