This subset came into being in 2004 as Writers of Tropical Queensland, recording information by and about authors who were born in, lived in, visited or wrote about Queensland, north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It also includes information about journalists, columnists, editors, newspapers, periodicals and associated companies and individuals important to the cultural life of the region.

From 2008 the subset became part of the wider subset Writing the Tropical North. The team of researchers based at James Cook University in Townsville are opening up the comparatively unexplored literature associated with the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia as areas of specific AustLit research focus. They expect to discover many features that in general distinguish the literature of the Australian Tropics from works produced in more temperate southern zones.

James Cook University allocated funding for data entry under a Merit Research Grant in 2004. The major responsibility for maintaining and extending the subset rests with Associate Professor Cheryl Taylor of the School of Arts and Social Sciences.

Search the Writers of Tropical Queensland Subset

Read Professor Cheryl Taylor's Introduction to the Writers of Tropical Queensland subset HERE.

The subset includes biographical information about authors associated with the region by birth, residence or visits, and bibliographical information about their works. The subset concentrates on creative and critical literature with an emphasis on essays, articles and reviews. It draws much of its content from newspapers and periodicals. Located both within the region and outside it, these were the main outlets for Queensland regional authors following European settlement in the 1860s.

The Writers of Tropical Queensland subset originated in a survey undertaken in the 1980s. Sources, especially newspapers and magazines, were searched for works by and about a list of approximately four hundred authors, whose names and association with the region were noted in literary histories and bibliographies available at the time. These included J. H. Hornibrook's Bibliography of Queensland Verse (1953), Miller and Macartney's Australian Literature: A Bibliography (1956), Cecil Hadgraft's Queensland and Its Writers (1959), and H. M. Green's A History of Australian Literature (1962). A sample of the items recorded was published in the journal LiNQ (Literature in North Queensland) between 1982 and 1987 as individual bibliographies of Randolph Bedford, Thea Astley, John Blight, James Devaney, Victor Kennedy, Brian Penton and R. S. Porteous. In 1997 the records relating to Ernest Favenc were included in an edition of his short stories, Tales of the Austral Tropics (Colonial Texts Series; University of NSW Press). Ross Smith and Cheryl Taylor were the original researchers. They were assisted by Bonita Frank, Elizabeth Holt, Tina Langford and Lindel Ryan, whose work of perusal and recording was funded by the Australian Research Grants Commission and by James Cook University.

The task of researching the estimated 28,000 records is about one-quarter complete, and is continuing. The subset is regularly updated as more volumes and items relevant to the region are identified and published. We particularly thank Dr Ben Myers for his contribution to data entry during 2004.

Writers of Tropical Queensland is a separately published work within AustLit.
No part of this work may be reproduced without permission.
ISBN 0 9750867 3 1
© AustLit : The Australian Literature Resource 2004-

Writers of Tropical Queensland.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 0 9750867 3 1 .

1. Australian literature - Bibliography.
2. Australian literature - History and criticism - Bibliography.
3. Queensland, Northern - In literature - Bibliography.
I. Taylor, Cheryl. II. James Cook University of North Queensland.

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