Austlit

The Book Collectors' Society of Australia was established in March 1944. Three years later the society published the first issue of Biblionews, a members' newsletter. Issued monthly, Biblionews contained much material contributed by long-time editor Walter Stone. During the 1950s, Stone often found it difficult to attract contributions, but by the the 1960s Biblionews contained at least one article per issue. Concerned primarily with bibliography, the newsletter published articles on a variety of Australian writers from the colonial period and the twentieth century. Contributors included E. Morris Miller, Dulcie Deamer, John Ferguson, R. G. Howarth, Colin Roderick, Brian Elliot, P. R. Stephensen, Jack Lindsay, George Mackaness, A. H. Chisholm and Percival Serle. Biblionews appeared regularly due to the enthusiasm of Stone and, consequently, the newsletter ceased production when Stone went overseas in 1964. A second series with the title Biblionews and Australian Notes and Queries began in January 1966.