Promoting Australian titles: Identifying Australian authorship in metadata

The APA is committed to supporting the Australian book industry’s growing efforts to better identify and promote Australian-authored titles. Retailers, libraries, media outlets, and cultural agencies are actively seeking ways to spotlight local voices – and they rely on clear, consistent metadata to do it.

Tagging Australian authorship in ONIX is a practical, industry-supported step toward that goal. Discussions are already underway with major retailers and platforms to use this metadata in consumer-facing promotions, filters, and curated collections.

The more accurately and consistently publishers tag Australian contributors, the more discoverable these titles will be when these initiatives go live. This short guide explains how to accurately tag in ONIX – and how to apply it carefully and consistently to maximise discoverability.

Tagging Australian authorship in metadata enables the industry to:

Power “Australian author” filters and landing pages in online stores.
Support curated lists (e.g. Australian crime fiction, Australian poetry).
Analyse the market performance of Australian-authored titles.
Deliver reporting aligned with government and cultural funding priorities.

While we recommend starting with the frontlist, accurately tagging backlist titles demonstrates the depth of Australian publishing and supports long-tail discovery.

How the data works

Australian authorship is represented in ONIX at the contributor level, using the <ContributorPlace> block within each <Contributor> record.

Key points:

<ContributorPlace> is an optional block/composite.
A contributor can be linked to multiple places (e.g. born in the UK, citizen of Australia, currently resides in Australia).
For discoverability purposes, any meaningful place relationship to Australia can be treated as a marker of Australian authorship.
In products with multiple contributors, Australian authorship should be assessed per contributor – some may be tagged as Australian, others not.
Any <ContributorPlace> with <CountryCode> AU can be treated as signalling Australian authorship.

Relevant ONIX DETAIL:

<CountryCode>: Indicates the country, using ISO 3166-1 codes (ONIX List 91).
<ContributorPlaceRealtor>: Describes the nature of the relationship – e.g. born in, resides in, citizen of (from ONIX List 151).

What we mean by "Australian contributor":

In everyday use, “Australian-authored” typically means written by an Australian. For ONIX purposes, we recommend:

An Australian contributor is an author, illustrator, translator, or the named editor of a collection who has a meaningful relationship with Australia — through citizenship, residency, or clear cultural association.

When to apply the marker:

Tag significant roles e.g. A01 Author, A12 Illustrator, B06 Editor of a collection, B06 (with collection context), B08 Translator (where culturally relevant)

Avoid tagging a title as Australian-authored if the Australian contributor's involvement is minor – for example, writing a short foreword to otherwise non-Australian work.

Where Australian authorship lives in ONIX:

As mentioned, in ONIX 3.X, authorship is captured in the <Contributor> record using one or more <ContributorPlace> entries. This allows you to describe a contributor’s relationship to a country using codes from List 151 – Contributor Place Relation, which includes:

01 Born in
02 Died in
03 Formerly resided in
04 Currently resides in
05 Educated in
06 Worked in
07 Flourished in
08 Citizen of

Some markets treat only ‘08 Citizen of’ as the official indicator of national identity. However, for Australian discoverability we recommend a broader approach. Any <ContributorPlace> with <CountryCode> AU can be treated as signalling Australian authorship — not only 08 Citizen of. This allows recognition of contributors who were born in Australia, live here now, or have another meaningful connection.

Applying the definition in practice:

Use reasonable judgement based information you already have, an Australian connection can be supported by:

Known citizenship, residency, or long-term association.
A credible residential mailing address in Australia (not a PO box or agency address).
Author bios, publisher websites, institutional affiliations, or reputable media sources.

If the available evidence supports an Australian connection, add a <ContributorPlace> with <CountryCode> value AU. If not, leave it blank.

Changing status: If a contributor’s circumstances change, use their current status when tagging backlist titles. This keeps consistency across their body of work.
Multiple contributors: If a title has more than one contributor, a single Australian contributor is sufficient to warrant an Australian-authored flag for the work, provided their role is significant.

Using RegionCode and LocationName:

In addition to <CountryCode> publishers can include more specific geographic data within <ContributorPlace>:

<RegionCode> uses ISO 3166-2 subdivisions (e.g. AU-NSW for New South Wales, AU-VIC for Victoria). This helps retailers and libraries run state-based promotions or highlight local authors.
<LocationName> is free text, and can carry the city, town, or institution name (e.g. Sydney, Hobart, Australian National University). This is particularly valuable for local festivals, library events, or community engagement. This can also be used to include a First Nations place name.

Best practice:

Pair <RegionCode> and <LocationName> with relators such as 01 Born in or 04 Currently resides in for maximum impact in discovery and promotions.
Do not attach a Region or Location to 08 Citizen of, since citizenship is not location-specific.
Keep free-text <LocationName> consistent and recognisable (e.g. avoid abbreviations or nicknames)

While <RegionCode> and <LocationName> aren’t widely used yet in Australia, they are:

Displayed on TitlePage, and will be available to use as filters in the upgraded TitlePage search.
The kind of detail local booksellers value and are actively asking for.

If you have this information, we strongly recommend including it — it will future-proof your data and enhance opportunities for local promotion.

Marking Australian authorship in ONIX 3.0:

Use a <ContributorPlace> with <CountryCode> AU. The <ContributorPlace> Relator indicates the nature of the link:

Any of the above, when paired with AU, may be considered a valid signal of Australian authorship.
Use multiple composites if relevant (e.g. born in the UK, citizen of Australia, resides in Australia).

Sample ONIX Contributor Composite (ONIX 3.X):

Multiple <ContributorPlace> composites can be used. Any with <CountryCode> AU may support Australian author discovery.

<Contributor>
<SequenceNumber>1</SequenceNumber>
<ContributorRole>A01</ContributorRole>
<PersonName>Michael Robotham</PersonName>
<PersonNameInverted>Robotham, Michael</PersonNameInverted>
<BiographicalNote>Michael Robotham is an Australian crime writer whose thrillers are published worldwide.</BiographicalNote>

<ContributorPlace>
<ContributorPlaceRelator>08</ContributorPlaceRelator> 
<CountryCode>AU</CountryCode>
</ContributorPlace>

<ContributorPlace>
<ContributorPlaceRelator>04</ContributorPlaceRelator> 
<CountryCode>AU</CountryCode>
<RegionCode>AU‑NSW</RegionCode>
<LocationName>Sydney</LocationName>
</ContributorPlace>
</Contributor>

With the TitlePage upgrades on the horizon, now is the time to make your metadata work harder for your local titles – and for Australian voices.

Find more best practice advice and learning resources for metadata.