Writing and Society Home
Publications
Writing and Society Research Centre members and postgraduate students are actively engaged with both literary and academic publishing. We are also behind a number of important publishing initiatives.
The Sydney Review of Books
Sparked by concerns about the dwindling space for literary criticism in Australian media, the Sydney Review of Books (opens in a new window) is an online review site focusing on Australian writers and writing.
Giramondo
The Writing and Society Research Centre houses the prestigious Giramondo book imprint (opens in a new window) which publishes some of the most significant contemporary Australian authors.
soundsRite
soundsRite (opens in a new window) is online and open access journal that publishes selected new media work which includes words and sound. It is co-edited by Prof. Hazel Smith (Writing and Society Research Centre) and Prof. Roger Dean (MARCS Auditory Laboratories).
The Journal of Beckett Studies
The Writing and Society Research Centre also produces the Journal of Beckett Studies, with Centre Director Prof. Anthony Uhlmann acting as its chief editor.
Recent Staff Publications
Chris Andrews, Lime Green Chair, published by Waywiser Press, 2012
Prompted by episodes from life in urban Australia, or dreamt about, or constructed from curious fragments of language, or, most often, produced in all three ways, the poems of Lime Green Chair (winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, 2011) are the work of an entirely distinctive and highly original writer. The poems range in tone from the comic to the elegiac, and in form from the 231-syllable "expanded sonnets" of parts I and III to the "short-story" poems of part II. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Matt McGuire, Dark Dawn: Killing in cold light, published by Corsair, 2012
Acting Detective Sergeant John O'Neill stands over the body of a dead teenager. The corpse was discovered on the building site of a luxury development overlooking the River Lagan. Kneecapped then killed, the body bears the hallmarks of a punishment beating. But this is the new Northern Ireland - the Celtic Tiger purrs, the Troubles are over, the paramilitaries are gone. So who is the boy? Why was he killed? »Read More (opens in a new window)
Chris Fleming (co-editor), Violence Desire and the Sacred, published by Continuum, 2012
Violence, Desire and the Sacred presents the most up-to-date inter-disciplinary work being developed with the ground-breaking insights of René Girard’s mimetic theory. The collection showcases the work of outstanding scholars in mimetic theory and how they are applying and developing Girard’s insights in a variety of fields. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Kate Fagan, First Light, published by Giramondo, 2012
First Light observes the details of the world with curious and restive attention. It explores the threshold between things and words, seeking out places where music and language are equal in charting human experience. Some poems sample from other writers to create new works, often as gifts for friends. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Recent Student Publications
Jesse Blackadder, Chasing the Light, published by Harper Collins, 2013
A fictional recounting of the little-known true story of the first woman to ever set foot on Antarctica, and her extraordinary fight to get there. It′s the early 1930s. Antarctic open-sea whaling is booming and a territorial race for the mysterious continent between Norwegian and British-Australian interests is in full swing. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Belinda Castles, Hannah & Emil, Allen & Unwin, 2012
Emil and Hannah live their lives amid the turmoil of twentieth-century history. Emil, a German veteran of the Great War, has returned home to a disturbed nation. As inflation and unemployment edge the country near collapse, Emil's involvement with the resistance ultimately forces him from his family and his home. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Claire Corbett, When We Have Wings, Allan & Unwin, 2011
In a world divided into fliers and non-fliers, how far would you go to be able to fly? How much would you sacrifice - perhaps your own child? A beautifully written and compellingly original novel of sacrifice, betrayal and love. »Read More (opens in a new window)
Future Directions in Publishing
A key area of interest for Writing and Society going forward is digital publishing in its various forms and the ongoing changes in the ways writing is now disseminated. This is reflected in research projects including Anna Gibbs and Maria Angel's work on new media writing. It is also reflected in the publishing strategies adopted by Writing and Society. The Sydney Review of Books is an online review site with ever expanding readership, soundsRite already offers cutting edge digital publication. In less technically sophisticated ways the Journal of Beckett Studies is increasingly being disseminated in digital form.
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to the following organisations for their funding and support: the Literature Board of the Australia Council (Giramondo) and Arts NSW (Western Sydney Writing Project).
