AustLit

'Within the long history of Australian crime fiction, Jane Harper’s The Dry marks a significant moment in the emergence of what has been characterised as “outback” or “rural” noir. With its focus on the small regional community of Kiewarra, Harper’s narrative addresses a number of issues that impact rural communities, including climate change, domestic abuse and gambling. Weaving together a story set in the past and a story set in the present, Harper offers a compelling portrait of the moral and social impact of these issues on rural communities in ways that challenge simplistic assumptions about the limitations of genre fiction to engender empathy. While some have argued that only literary fiction can evoke the kind of empathy that enhances our experiences of the world, this article suggests this is not the case and that The Dry is a powerful and moving portrayal speaking to the effects of environmental catastrophe and domestic abuse within a genre that may appeal to a broad and receptive audience.' (Publication abstract)

'In early March, the ABC issued a press release announcing that the “multi-award-winning Australian drama Wentworth” would make its free to air television debut on April 12. “This ground-breaking and much acclaimed Foxtel drama”, it went on, has not only been enormously popular “worldwide”, but also garnered a swag of nominations and awards, including one from the Monte Carlo TV festival. Somehow overseas recognition still seems to count for so much more when it comes to assessing the value and impact of Australian screen productions.' 

'This article explores the concept of value in relation to the Australian television crime drama series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Drawing on a range of approaches to the economic valuation of culture, it argues for a nuanced approach to capturing the total cultural and economic value of a television crime drama series. While this may include the quantifiable, direct monetary benefits to be derived at all stages of development, production, distribution and consumption, the case is made for consideration of the unquantifiable, indirect non-monetary benefits that may also accrue to creators, to audiences and to society in general, as are clearly evident in the case of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.'

Source: Authors' abstract.