AustLit

When Michael Denholm returned to Tasmania in the late 1970s, he became involved in organising poetry readings. Discussions with poets and other writers led to a proposal for a new literary magazine to feature Tasmanian writers. With Andrew Sant and Tim Thorne, Denholm founded the Tasmanian Review, publishing the first issue in June 1979. In March 1981, the magazine was renamed Island Magazine, indicating a shift in editorial policy to produce a more national magazine.

Island Magazine published poems, short stories, articles, interviews, photographs and graphics. During the 1980s, the magazine exhibited a strong concern for ecological issues, supporting protests against the Tasmanian government's proposed damming of the Franklin River. But, reflecting the national character of the magazine, contributors during this period included Les Murray, Christopher Koch{n), Dorothy Green, Humphrey McQueen, Donald Horne, Frank Moorhouse, Gwen Harwood, Bernard Smith, Hugh Stretton, Tim Wintoni8), Olga Masters, Marion Halligan, John Forbes, Judith Beveridge2[), Geoff Page and Peter Porter.

In 1989 Denholm and Sant edited First Rights: A Decade of Island Magazine, bringing their term as editors of Island Magazine to a close. Cassandra Pybus was appointed editor and the magazine soon displayed the shortened title Island. During Pybus's term, circulation increased substantially and the reputation of the magazine grew to rival many of the older mainland literary quarterlies. But Pybus's editorial practices, which included employing non-Tasmanian guest editors, caused a conflict with members of the magazine's board who wanted to maintain a Tasmanian focus. In 1994 the board requested her resignation, ending Pybus's term in controversial circumstances, and prompting heated debates in mainland magazines.

Rodney Croome, a prominent Tasmanian gay rights activist, was appointed editor of Island after a short interim period. This coincided with mainland criticism that Island was fast becoming a parochial publication and did not deserve funding from the federal government. With the magazine in financial difficulty, the editorial board challenged this assertion, but, regardless, Croome followed an editorial policy that he later called 'Voicing the South'. In 1999, continuing financial difficulty influenced a 'strategic planning process' with the support of Arts Tasmania , resulting in a change of editorial policy to that originally voiced by Denholm and Sant: 'The two criteria which determine the selection of material for the journal are excellence and variety'. This policy was implemented by David Owen, who was appointed editor in late 1999.

Matthew Lamb was appointed Editorial Director and Features Editor in 2013, with Geordie Williamson as the fiction editor and Sarah Holland-Batt as the poetry editor. Geordie Williamson was replaced by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg as fiction editor in 2016; both Boulanger-Mashberg and Holland-Batt left their roles in 2019. Matthew Lamb left his role as editor in 2015.

In 2015, Island stopped producing an online edition and expanded its print run significantly. In late 2019, Island announced that it has not secured Arts Tasmania funding for 2020-2024, and would need to explore additional avenues for funding.

The Australian Book Review (ABR) was established in 1961 to provide a forum for the review of new Australian books. Editors, Max Harris and Geoffrey Dutton, planned to 'notice' or review every new Australian book, but this desire proved difficult to realise due to a rising number of books and the difficulty of defining what an Australian book was. Nevertheless, ABR employed a range of reviewers to provide general readers with authoritative assessments of important books. These reviewers included Frank Kellaway, Olaf Ruhen, Vale Lindsay, Tom Shapcott, Brian Dibble, Bruce Beaver and Don Watson.

Rosemary Wighton became co-editor in 1962 after acting as associate editor for a short time. She and Harris remained co-editors of ABR until 1973 when the magazine ceased operation after finding it increasingly difficult to meet production costs. An attempt was made by the newly formed National Book Council (NBC) to buy ABR, but, due to legal technicalities, this was not possible at that time. In 1978, John McLaren convinced the NBC to revive ABR and the magazine was adopted as the official organ of the NBC.

John McLaren was appointed editor, proceeding in a manner similar to the first series by attempting to review all Australian books; but he also faced problems of space and definition. In 1986 Kerryn Goldsworthy replaced McLaren as editor, and introduced a stronger concentration on women's issues. Louise Adler followed Goldsworthy as editor in 1988 and attempted to provoke debate by commissioning controversial reviews, but her term concluded within twelve months. Rosemary Sorenson was appointed editor in 1989, bringing a lighter tone and a desire to attract a new readership with younger writers. Sorenson was assisted by major sponsorship from Telecom, allowing her to fund a series of essays. While ABR had always published features on various topics, the sponsorship gave the essays a more significant place. The essay feature has continued with similar sponsorship from the National Library of Australia and La Trobe University.

Helen Daniel edited ABR from 1994 until her death in 2000. She lifted the profile of the magazine by organising several series of public forums and encouraged new writers with competitions for fiction and reviewing. During this time, the NBC wound down its operations after a significant proportion of its government funding was withdrawn. This had an immediate effect on the stability of ABR, forcing the magazine to separate from its parent body and publish independently.

Peter Rose was appointed editor in January 2001 and has since expanded the scope of ABR by actively commissioning poetry and fiction. Rose also developed a sponsorship scheme to support the work of ABR. In 2002 La Trobe University became the Chief Sponsor of ABR, with the National Library of Australia as its National Sponsor. Three years later Flinders University became another key sponsor and in 2007 the wealth management group Ord Minnett took on the role of exclusive corporate sponsor.

'The Big Issue is an informative, independent street magazine - a current affairs publication with a sense of humour. It is sold on the streets of Australia's major cities by authorised vendors who are either homeless or unemployed. [...] The Big Issue is Australia's premier street publication - it is the magazine that helps people help themselves. The Big Issue is affiliated with over 50 street papers around the world. Every member of the International Network of Street Papers is committed to producing a high quality publication, raising awareness about social issues and - most importantly - providing an opportunity for homeless and unemployed people to improve their life circumstances. Here in Australia, hundreds of vendors have used The Big Issue to get back on their feet, and to reconnect with a society they were in danger of losing touch with. The goal of The Big Issue project is to provide a way - via the selling of a great magazine - to assist homeless, ex-homeless and unemployed people to participate in society as independently as possible.'

(Source: The Big Issue website, http://www.bigissue.org.au/)

Originally promoted in a prospectus dated 8 September 1854 by the Cooke brothers operating under the business name of Messrs. Francis Cooke and Co., General Merchants and Stock Owners, the Age was forty-eight hours from closure before the end of the year. This was avoided by compositors and other staff and supporters banding together to form a co-operative. This arrangement continued until 6 June 1856 when the chief editor Ebenezer Syme bought the paper at auction and became its sole proprietor. (In his biography of David Syme, Ambrose Pratt suggests that the Age was saved from an even earlier closure by its sympathetic coverage of the events at the Eureka Stockade.)

At Ebenezer Syme's death, his brother David Syme took control of the newspaper until his own death in 1908. David Syme left the Age to his wife and sons in trust.

In March 1952 Bill Wannan distributed the first roneoed copies of Realist Writer to the Melbourne Realist Writers' Group, an organisation sponsored by the Communist Party of Australia (CPA). Planned as a bulletin to share work within the group, Realist Writer sought to develop the genre of social realism in Australian literature. Beginning with the third issue, Stephen Murray-Smith accepted editorial responsibility, producing seven more issues before Realist Writer was incorporated into the first issue of Overland.

The first issue of Overland delared its motto, 'Temper democratic; Bias, Australian', adapting Joseph Furphy's description of Such is Life (1903). According to Murray-Smith, Overland sought to attract a 'mass audience' and he encouraged that audience to contribute to the development of the magazine. The first issue announced that Overland 'will aim high, but has no exclusive or academic standards of any kind. It will make a special point of developing writing talent in people of diverse background. We ask of our readers, however inexpert, that they write for us; that they share our love of living, our optimism, our belief in the traditional dream of a better Australia'. The selection of writing for publication eventually caused a break between Overland and the CPA in 1958. Murray-Smith's selection policy was primarily informed by aesthetic criteria rather than the ideological criteria promoted by the CPA. Unyielding pressure from the CPA to publish ideologically informed writing forced Murray-Smith to remove the magazine from its former sponsor and proceed independently.

According to Murray-Smith, up to 4,000 copies of Overland were regularly printed in its early years, but that number dropped after the break from the CPA. The circulation dropped further in the 1960s, remaining at around 2000 for several decades. Like most editors of small magazines, Murray-Smith was faced with the challenge of attracting funds for basic publishing costs. Extra contributions from subscribers were regularly acknowledged in the 'Floating Fund' column, a tradition that continues in 2003. Early attempts to win support from the Commonwealth Literary Fund were thwarted by selection committees unsympathetic to the magazine's communist origins. But, continuing financial support from the fund was eventually won in the early 1960s.

Murray-Smith continued as editor until his death in 1988. He was succeeded by the magazine's poetry editor, Barrett Reid, who continued in the position until first John McLaren and then Ian Syson completed their editorial terms in the 1990s. Syson was succeeded in 2003 by the former associate and assistant editors, Nathan Hollier and Katherine Wilson.

Overland attracted a loyal group of poetry contributors in its first three decades. Contributors during the first decade of Overland such as Bruce Dawe, Judith Wright, Dorothy Hewett, Nancy Cato, Noel Macainsh, Chris Wallace-Crabbe and Thomas Shapcott continued to contribute poetry in the 1980s and 1990s. Later contributors include Graham Rowlands, Eric Beach, Robert Adamson, Geoff Goodfellow, Geoff Page, Laurie Duggan, Kate Lilley and Jennifer Maiden.

In both poetry and fiction Overland has shown an interest in overseas literature, particularly contemporary Chinese literature. While the contributions of poetry and fiction from this large groups of writers remained relatively strong, the value of some feature articles has occasionally been questioned by various commentators because of a perceived divergence from writing styles suitable for a general audience. At an editorial conference in 1978, Ian Turner, speaking of Overland, said, 'We have lost our popular audience; now it is rather the radical intelligentsia, say 35 years of age and older'. Echoes of this statement (not exclusively about Overland) appeared in the mid 1990s. In 1998, Duncan Richardson and Allan Gardiner complained in the pages of Overland about the trend towards academic articles unsuitable for the 'non-elite' reader, directing blame at magazines not readers for falling subscriptions.

Despite such criticism, Overland has maintained a strong reputation for investigating important social issues. Early volumes were dominated by articles on Australian literary figures and their works, but this was accompanied by articles on the bombing of Hiroshima, censorship of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover and social conditions in Aboriginal communities and Papua New Guinea. Later volumes have included essays on international conflict, immigration, multiculturalism, the practice of literary criticism, Australian historiography, sport and cinema.

Proud of its history, the newest editors of Overland, Nathan Hollier and Katherine Wilson have revisited the editorial doctrine that Murray-Smith printed in the first issue. In their first editorial they echoed Murray-Smith's call for contributions, hoping to strengthen the connection with the Australian working-class forged in the first years of Overland.

The Australian Book Review (ABR) was established in 1961 to provide a forum for the review of new Australian books. Editors, Max Harris and Geoffrey Dutton, planned to 'notice' or review every new Australian book, but this desire proved difficult to realise due to a rising number of books and the difficulty of defining what an Australian book was. Nevertheless, ABR employed a range of reviewers to provide general readers with authoritative assessments of important books. These reviewers included Frank Kellaway, Olaf Ruhen, Vale Lindsay, Tom Shapcott, Brian Dibble, Bruce Beaver and Don Watson.

Rosemary Wighton became co-editor in 1962 after acting as associate editor for a short time. She and Harris remained co-editors of ABR until 1973 when the magazine ceased operation after finding it increasingly difficult to meet production costs. An attempt was made by the newly formed National Book Council (NBC) to buy ABR, but, due to legal technicalities, this was not possible at that time. In 1978, John McLaren convinced the NBC to revive ABR and the magazine was adopted as the official organ of the NBC.

John McLaren was appointed editor, proceeding in a manner similar to the first series by attempting to review all Australian books; but he also faced problems of space and definition. In 1986 Kerryn Goldsworthy replaced McLaren as editor, and introduced a stronger concentration on women's issues. Louise Adler followed Goldsworthy as editor in 1988 and attempted to provoke debate by commissioning controversial reviews, but her term concluded within twelve months. Rosemary Sorenson was appointed editor in 1989, bringing a lighter tone and a desire to attract a new readership with younger writers. Sorenson was assisted by major sponsorship from Telecom, allowing her to fund a series of essays. While ABR had always published features on various topics, the sponsorship gave the essays a more significant place. The essay feature has continued with similar sponsorship from the National Library of Australia and La Trobe University.

Helen Daniel edited ABR from 1994 until her death in 2000. She lifted the profile of the magazine by organising several series of public forums and encouraged new writers with competitions for fiction and reviewing. During this time, the NBC wound down its operations after a significant proportion of its government funding was withdrawn. This had an immediate effect on the stability of ABR, forcing the magazine to separate from its parent body and publish independently.

Peter Rose was appointed editor in January 2001 and has since expanded the scope of ABR by actively commissioning poetry and fiction. Rose also developed a sponsorship scheme to support the work of ABR. In 2002 La Trobe University became the Chief Sponsor of ABR, with the National Library of Australia as its National Sponsor. Three years later Flinders University became another key sponsor and in 2007 the wealth management group Ord Minnett took on the role of exclusive corporate sponsor.

Cosmos: An Illustrated Australian Magazine was a monthly literary journal published in Sydney from 1 September 1894 until 31 May 1899. Featuring the work of many well-known colonial Australian writers as well as playing host to a range of more obscure ones; Cosmos offers a vivid insight into the lively colonial Australian literary scene during the final years of the nineteenth century. Though relatively short-lived compared with publications such as the Australian Journal, Cosmos managed to survive—and briefly flourish—in a market that was flooded with many imported journals, including special colonial editions of periodicals such as Britain's Review of Reviews and the American-based Scribner's Magazine, as well as popular local publications such as the Sydney Bulletin. The self-consciousness with which Cosmos considered its position within this marketplace is one of the interesting things about it. All too aware of the ephemerality of many colonial literary enterprises, Cosmos was often explicit in addressing the question of what qualities were necessary for a magazine's survival. 'Our Local Contemporaries,' an article written by Annie Bright for the May 1895 issue, for example, offers a valuable insight into the colonial Australian journal scene, as she works to carve out a place for Cosmos amid Sydney's 'immense quantity of reading matter with its four daily journals, to say nothing of the twenty weekly papers and twenty-two periodicals of diverse kinds.'

Cosmos's founder and first editor was Armand Jerome, a flamboyant figure who became well known in Sydney's bohemian theatrical and literary circles soon after his arrival from America in 1893. Like many who energetically pursued literary careers in colonial Australia, Jerome has been largely forgotten today. But during his lifetime he achieved considerable notoriety—not least in July 1896 when he was exposed as a charlatan and forger. He was imprisoned for three years after several months on the run. He argued at his trial that it was his literary ambition that had led him to a life of crime; a suggestion viewed sceptically by his contemporaries. But whatever his motivations, within a year of coming to Australia, Jerome had become recognised as a 'society journalist,' edited three Australian-focussed books and started what he claimed to be the only literary journal in Australasia at that time.

It was through the insistent cultivation of an Australian literary sensibility and the promotion of a distinctive national identity that Cosmos sought to distinguish itself from other publications. Jerome presented the idea of an Australian national literature as unchartered ground, an unknown territory that needed a magazine like Cosmos to help it become properly defined and settled. 'Does [Australia] realise,' he demanded in the first editorial, 'the fact that it, one of the great sections of the English speaking people, is dependent, but for the Cosmos, upon publishers in other parts of the world? Does it realise that of the vast field of fictional opportunity, the bush, the settlement and the township offer, scarcely an acre has been taken up?' In expressing the importance of developing a distinctive national literature this early editorial reproduces the kinds of clichés found more broadly in the commentaries of the day. 'In fiction as in other branches,' it announces, 'the Cosmos aims at being Australian, and writers, especially of short stories are desired, who will reach beyond the blackfellow and the bushranger yarn, and enter the real sphere of Australian life.' The outback tales of author-adventurers such as Ernest Favenc and Alex Montgomery were certainly a regular feature in its pages. But Cosmos also seemed to move beyond the familiar themes of frontier and South Sea adventure through its emphasis on typically feminine popular literary genres. The fragrant, lyrical poems, short stories and novellas of writers such as Louise Mack appeared alongside romance tales by novelists such as Mrs H. E. Russell and E. L. Sutherland, while many interviews, literary articles and reviews seem directed toward a cultivated, and primarily urban, female audience.

Ethel Turner's 'Women's Department' played an important role in establishing the sophisticated, metropolitan and feminine tone of the journal's early editions, offering notes on fashion, domesticity and social life. Perhaps most significant though, was the way her column brought together the feminine and the literary. Her topics of the day ranged from 'New Woman' novelists, such as Sarah Grand, to the changing role of the heroine in contemporary fiction, and the formulaic nature of women's romance writing. Many articles by other female authors took up similar themes, including, for example, 'Australians in Fiction,' by 'Eric' (Caroline Montefiore) in October 1894, which explores the figure of the 'Australian Girl' in some recent fiction.

Apart from offering space for women's fiction and giving women a critical voice, Cosmos also featured many stories of women's successes—from 'glamour' articles about female actors, singers and gaiety performers on the one hand, to stories of women working in senior professions on the other, such as 'The Sydney Women's College and its Principal' (June 1895). Colonial author and spiritualist Annie Bright wrote many such pieces; she had taken over as editor of Cosmos from the second issue, while Jerome stayed on as manager. Bright retained a focus on Australian femininity and literary themes, nationalism and federation throughout her editorship, as well as writing regular biographical columns, articles on spiritualism and book reviews. Her monthly editorials were at once cosmopolitan and regional in focus, encompassing a wide range of both international and local topics.

In August 1895 Bright cautiously celebrated the magazine's survival in 'Our First Year,' an article that notes the 'daunting experience of so many shipwrecked ventures before us.' From that time, production continued uninterrupted for eight months. Starting in May 1896, however, there was a two-month break, and when publication resumed on 7 July that year, Alex Montgomery was named as editor, and Maxwell Keely as manager. One week later, Armand Jerome disappeared. Despite speculation that Cosmos would close down, it continued publication for several more years, continuing its investment in a cultivated and empowered colonial femininity, despite publishing fewer well known authors, and coming increasingly to rely on long running serials to fill its pages. Even with its eventual closure, Cosmos didn't die out completely; it was incorporated into another of its publisher, Maclardy & Co's, literary publications, Southern Cross: An Illustrated Australasian Magazine. Maxwell Keely stayed on as editor and manager. Despite its more parochial sounding title, Southern Cross was another lively colonial magazine with an investment in literature as well as peculiarly Australian forms of metropolitan femininity and glamour that perhaps reflected, at least in part, something that Cosmos had worked towards developing.

(History of Cosmos Magazine provided by Dr Rachael Weaver, October 2012. Her article, 'Cosmos Magazine and Colonial Feminity' can be accessed here.)

When Michael Denholm returned to Tasmania in the late 1970s, he became involved in organising poetry readings. Discussions with poets and other writers led to a proposal for a new literary magazine to feature Tasmanian writers. With Andrew Sant and Tim Thorne, Denholm founded the Tasmanian Review, publishing the first issue in June 1979. In March 1981, the magazine was renamed Island Magazine, indicating a shift in editorial policy to produce a more national magazine.

Island Magazine published poems, short stories, articles, interviews, photographs and graphics. During the 1980s, the magazine exhibited a strong concern for ecological issues, supporting protests against the Tasmanian government's proposed damming of the Franklin River. But, reflecting the national character of the magazine, contributors during this period included Les Murray, Christopher Koch{n), Dorothy Green, Humphrey McQueen, Donald Horne, Frank Moorhouse, Gwen Harwood, Bernard Smith, Hugh Stretton, Tim Wintoni8), Olga Masters, Marion Halligan, John Forbes, Judith Beveridge2[), Geoff Page and Peter Porter.

In 1989 Denholm and Sant edited First Rights: A Decade of Island Magazine, bringing their term as editors of Island Magazine to a close. Cassandra Pybus was appointed editor and the magazine soon displayed the shortened title Island. During Pybus's term, circulation increased substantially and the reputation of the magazine grew to rival many of the older mainland literary quarterlies. But Pybus's editorial practices, which included employing non-Tasmanian guest editors, caused a conflict with members of the magazine's board who wanted to maintain a Tasmanian focus. In 1994 the board requested her resignation, ending Pybus's term in controversial circumstances, and prompting heated debates in mainland magazines.

Rodney Croome, a prominent Tasmanian gay rights activist, was appointed editor of Island after a short interim period. This coincided with mainland criticism that Island was fast becoming a parochial publication and did not deserve funding from the federal government. With the magazine in financial difficulty, the editorial board challenged this assertion, but, regardless, Croome followed an editorial policy that he later called 'Voicing the South'. In 1999, continuing financial difficulty influenced a 'strategic planning process' with the support of Arts Tasmania , resulting in a change of editorial policy to that originally voiced by Denholm and Sant: 'The two criteria which determine the selection of material for the journal are excellence and variety'. This policy was implemented by David Owen, who was appointed editor in late 1999.

Matthew Lamb was appointed Editorial Director and Features Editor in 2013, with Geordie Williamson as the fiction editor and Sarah Holland-Batt as the poetry editor. Geordie Williamson was replaced by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg as fiction editor in 2016; both Boulanger-Mashberg and Holland-Batt left their roles in 2019. Matthew Lamb left his role as editor in 2015.

In 2015, Island stopped producing an online edition and expanded its print run significantly. In late 2019, Island announced that it has not secured Arts Tasmania funding for 2020-2024, and would need to explore additional avenues for funding.

Founded in 1923 as a branch of the London-based English Association, the Sydney branch of the English Association (known until 1944 as the Australian English Association) pursued the primary objective of preserving the purity of English in both written and spoken forms. In 1936, a four-page 'Bulletin' was produced to promote these objectives. This format was expanded three years later to include articles, reviews, and news about the association in a 40-page journal called Southerly. The title was designed to suggest the relation that the journal had with English literary traditions. It also evoked the refreshing winds of Sydney's 'southerly buster' that sometimes develop into a destructive natural force. The significance of the title was augmented when the now familiar Hugh McCrae (q.v.) sketch of Auster, spirit of the South Wind, was first displayed as a motif in 1946.

R. G. Howarth (q.v.), a lecturer in English at the University of Sydney and one of the leading proponents of the journal, was appointed founding editor, a position he held until 1955. The first volumes of Southerly were completely funded by the Australian English Association. The editors and contributors worked in an honorary capacity, but the costs of production remained a financial burden. This burden was relieved in 1944 when the publishing company Angus & Robertson agreed to take responsibility for the cost and management of publication and distribution. Two years later they also took responsibility for printing Southerly at their Halstead Press, an arrangement that continued until the early 1960s. The English Association received further financial relief in 1952 when it was awarded the first of its ongoing literary grants from the Australian government.

Howarth's editorial policy delivered articles and reviews on both Australian and overseas literature, but this policy drew criticism from members of the Jindyworobak movement for its lack of focus on the local product. Howarth defended his editorial policy in the November issue of 1941, stating that he wished the journal to avoid regionalism or parochialism, thus 'maintaining the cultural good relations that have hitherto subsisted between the mother and the daughter countries.' In time, this policy became less stringent as Australian literature became more widely accepted as a serious field of study.

The physical size of Southerly changed several times during its lifetime, and the number of pages devoted to Australian literature steadily increased from the 40-page issues of the 1940s to regular issues of more than 200 pages in the 1990s. The influence of Howarth's early editorial policies lingered into the 1970s. During the 1940s it was not unusual to see articles on Australian literature beside articles on European poetry and fiction. In 1950, one issue printed the poems of a number of contemporary English poets, but during the 1950s the number of articles on non-Australian subjects gradually decreased. By 1963 readers could expect a strong concentration on Australian writing in major articles by academic writers. But the 'Books Received' column continued to announce the arrival of British and European books, and reviews of such books were common until 1973.

When Howarth left Australia in 1956 for an academic position in South Africa, Southerly was set to change its focus and format. Kenneth Slessor (q.v.) was appointed the second editor of Southerly and responded immediately to its flagging reputation. The critic and literary historian H. M. Green (q.v.) had recently described the journal as 'dull' and 'unadventurous'. To address this, Slessor implemented a number of changes to the format and content, bringing a less academic tone to the journal by inviting contributions from his journalist colleagues and high-profile figures such as the Prime Minister Robert Menzies (q.v.). Most significantly, he added the sub-title 'A Review of Australian Literature', signalling an intention to break from Howarth's early editorial policy.

The support from Angus & Robertson ceased during Slessor's term as editor because of the publisher's reluctance to continue providing labour and equipment at the Halstead Press for no charge. Slessor resigned in frustration after consistent delays and the subsequent absence of issues for 1960. Walter Stone (q.v.) acted as editor following Slessor's departure, printing Southerly at his Wentworth Press, and later taking responsibility for subscriptions and distribution. During the 1970s, the English Association accepted more control of the publishing activities of Southerly, assuming full managerial responsibility after 1985. As in its foundation years, the journal survived the financial difficulties of these transitions with much unpaid labour by members of the English Association.

In 1963, G. A. Wilkes (q.v.) began his long term as editor of Southerly, presiding over a period that saw continued change in the study of Australian literature. The foundation professor of Australian literature at Sydney University, Wilkes broadened the scope of the journal by seeking contributors outside of the Sydney circle of writers employed by Howarth and Slessor. Assisted by the growing university system, this new editorial approach stimulated academic criticism of Australian literature and enabled junior academics to achieve wider exposure. In addition to the development of criticism, Southerly continued to attract contributions of fiction and poetry from some of Australia's best writers. After G. A. Wilkes' retirement in 1987, Elizabeth Webby (q.v.), Professor of Australian literature at Sydney University, edited Southerly until 1999.

In 2000, Southerly renewed its association with the Halstead Press which once again accepted responsibility for subscriptions, publication and distribution. This arrangement allowed the new editors, Noel Rowe (q.v.) and David Brooks (q.v.), to concentrate on the planning and contents of each issue, beginning a new phase in the journal's ongoing contribution to the study of Australian literature.

'The Big Issue is an informative, independent street magazine - a current affairs publication with a sense of humour. It is sold on the streets of Australia's major cities by authorised vendors who are either homeless or unemployed. [...] The Big Issue is Australia's premier street publication - it is the magazine that helps people help themselves. The Big Issue is affiliated with over 50 street papers around the world. Every member of the International Network of Street Papers is committed to producing a high quality publication, raising awareness about social issues and - most importantly - providing an opportunity for homeless and unemployed people to improve their life circumstances. Here in Australia, hundreds of vendors have used The Big Issue to get back on their feet, and to reconnect with a society they were in danger of losing touch with. The goal of The Big Issue project is to provide a way - via the selling of a great magazine - to assist homeless, ex-homeless and unemployed people to participate in society as independently as possible.'

(Source: The Big Issue website, http://www.bigissue.org.au/)

'Essays, reportage and commentary from Australian researchers and writers ...'

Source: Inside Story (April 2011): 2

The first issue of Meanjin was published at Brisbane in 1940, containing the poems of Clem Christesen, James Picot, Brian Vrepont and Paul Grano. Christesen was the founding editor and remained in that position until 1974, attempting to produce a 'journal of ideas, built around books, to encourage free expression and intelligent criticism, to put forward "advance guard" material, develop contacts abroad--a Literary Lend-lease'. To this end, Christesen attracted a diverse group of writers from Australia and overseas. In the 1940s Australian writers included poets such as Harold Stewart, Harry Hooton, Peter Hopegood, Max Harris, Rex Ingamells, Hugh McCrae and R. D. FitzGerald ; critics such as Vance and Nettie Palmer, A. R. Chisholm and R. G. Howarth; fiction writers such as Xavier Herbert and Katharine Susannah Prichard; and a variety of other commentators such as Norman Bartlett, Lloyd Ross, Brian Fitzpatrick and Manning Clark. Overseas writers whose work appeared in Meanjin included Anais Nin, Arthur Koestler and Jean-Paul Sartre. Accompanying the work of these writers were sketches, designs and woodcuts from a number of visual artists, including Margaret Preston, Frank Medworth, Noel Counihan and Roy Dalgarno.

Following an offer by Melbourne University to publish and manage the magazine, Christesen and his wife, Nina, moved to Melbourne in February 1945. Despite the financial security and institutional support, circulation dropped during the next twelve months. Christesen was forced to seek sponsorship from other sources to supplement the contribution from the university. By the late 1940s the distinct business connection with the university had ended but infrastructure was still provided, maintaining Meanjin 's institutional home.

The historian Jim Davidson had been acting as editor for some time before he was officially instated in 1975. During his eight-year term Davidson attempted to attract a new generation of readers to Meanjin, with special issues on Papua and New Guinea, Women and the Arts, and Aboriginal culture. Davidson also introduced interviews in a new format that brought the first change in size to Meanjin since 1951. In the first issue of 1982 Judith Brett was acknowledged as Associate Editor, taking over from Davidson in the next issue. Like Davidson, Brett responded to changes in Australian culture, extending the discussion of women writers begun in the late 1970s and introducing a focus on migrant writers. Throughout this period Meanjin continued to print the works of many of Australia's best creative writers. Contributors during this period included Bruce Dawe, John Tranter, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Tom Shapcott, Jennifer Maiden, Les Murray, Patrick White, Frank Moorhouse, Morris Lurie, Laurie Clancy and Michael Wilding. In addition to established writers Meanjin also published the work of new writers, including Tim Winton, Nicholas Jose, Marion Halligan and Garry Disher.

Throughout the 1990s Meanjin went through several changes to format and faced a number of financial challenges. Jenny Lee's term as editor brought a more academic tone to the magazine and introduced regular thematic issues (but this has not always pre-determined the selection of creative writing). Many issues focused on cultural studies, postmodernism, postcolonialism and the state of the humanities. Other issues explored landscape, music, women's knowledge, Aboriginal issues and the Pacific region.

When Christina Thompson became editor in 1994, she brought another shift in tone, suggesting that Meanjin had become too academic, and pushed for a greater clarity in the contributions. Issues explored during Thompson's term included Canadian studies, corporatisation, suburban life, the Pacific region and queer studies. In the mid 1990s Meanjin faced severe financial setback when regular government funding was significantly reduced. Despite seeking outside funding, the diminished budget had an immediate effect. With inadequate funds to support productions costs, only three issues were produced in 1997. Thompson also experienced strong opposition from some Meanjin board members and did not seek reappointment.

In 1998 Melbourne University bought Meanjin to avoid its closure, imposing stronger control of the magazine's business dealings. Stephanie Holt, with a background in visual arts journalism, was appointed editor. During Holt's term, Meanjin explored issues on travel, crime, reconciliation, and revisited the idea of the cultural cringe. Former editor, Jim Davidson, later remarked that Holt had made Meanjin 'absolutely contemporary again'. But Holt faced some opposition at the end of her term and was controversially replaced by historian Ian Britain in 2001, causing several board members to resign in protest. Britain has since produced themed issues on museums, life writing, drugs and food.

AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource is a web-accessible database providing authoritative information on creative and critical Australian literary works, authors and organisations.