The Australasian Book Society was a cooperative publishing society which funded the publication of Australian authors through members' subscriptions. Founded in Melbourne at a meeting convened by George Seelaf, the society initially had Communist Party and trade union associations, and published largely left wing and democratic novels. It provided members with up to four books each year for their subscription' - Austlit.

Cecily Cameron had a 30 year association with the Queensland Trades and Labor Council. Employed by the TLC in 1953 at the age of 19, she worked as personal secretary to the Council’s Secretary, Alex Macdonald, until 1957. She returned to her old job in 1966 and remained with the Council until her retirement in 1983. Cameron played a key role in preserving the TLC’s records and was instrumental in having them deposited in the Fryer Library. After leaving the TLC she began work on a biography of Macdonald. She co-authored the entry on him in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, but her full biography of Macdonald was never completed.