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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Applications for these close this coming Monday, 31 August. There is still time to apply! $15,000 each for two fellows, one of whom will be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander creative.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It's almost Book Week, and that means it's time for AustLit's suggestions for simple costumes based on Australian books. Most of these come together with only three or four accessories. Happy Book Week 2026!

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

AustLit's latest newsletter went out yesterday! Keen to read all our exciting news, hot off the presses? Check it out below: comms.uq.edu.au/v/39308/5027...

comms.uq.edu.au

AustLit News 2023

Welcome to AustLit eNews: Winter 2026 edition A word from AustLit's Director... Welcome to our second newsletter edition of 2026!

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Applications for the AustLit Creative Writing Fellows now open! Closing 31 Aug. Two early/mid-career Fellowships of $15,000, one designated for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writer, to use AustLit data as the inspiration for a new and original work. Full details: www.austlit.edu.au/about

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Have you used AustLit in a recent or upcoming publication? Have you cited us? And would you like to rewarded for doing so? Because if the answer to all of those is yes, then we have good news!

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Introducing the AustLit Essay Prize! AustLit is delighted to launch an annual prize for the best scholarly essay that makes use of AustLit data to generate new insights and/or arguments. Full terms and conditions are available on our About pages: www.austlit.edu.au/about

On a dark green background, two hands, one brown and one tan, hold fountain pens. In a yellow box, text reads: Introducing the AUSTLIT ESSAY PRIZE

Text reads: find out more

Awarded annually at the ASAL Conference, this prize is for the best use of AustLit data to generate a new argument or insight about the Australian literary, publishing or cultural landscape in a scholarly essay.

To be first awarded in 2027 for an essay published in the previous two years. Subsequent prizes for essays published in the previous twelve months.

Text reads: find out more
Full terms and conditions are available on AustLit’s About page.

Key details include:

The award comprises an AU$1000 cash prize.
Entries for the inaugural prize will be accepted until 31 January 2027 (and that same date each subsequent year).
Entries are welcome from scholars writing in English anywhere in the world.

Text reads:
Interested in submitting your work?

Full terms and conditions available at the link below

www.austlit.edu.au/about

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Have you ever wondered why some records on AustLit have separate notes? Here's a quick video guide reading affiliation notes. Video has captions but no sounds.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Today's highlighted project is Australian Colonial Narrative Journalism, led by Dr Willa McDonald. The project began at Macquarie University, and aims to trace narrative journalism's history in Australia since 1788. Explore below! www.austlit.edu.au/research Slides designed by Monica Clayton.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Following on from our most recent information trail, on historical fiction, this quick search video walks you through searching AustLit by temporal settings. Video has captions, no sound. Happy searching! #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The latest 25 works for 25 years trail is on historical fiction. From ancient Rome to WW2, explore these 25 works that revisit, reframe, and interrogate the past. #austlit25 #historicalfiction #readaustralianstories

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Last week, we published one final quick search video for NAIDOC week: searching on language. The examples are Aboriginal language, but this works across our entire language thesaurus. Happy searching!

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

A reminder that last week we published our longest BlackWords information trail ever. Fifty years of deadly writing. Each year, a dedicated work. www.https://www.austlit.edu.au/blackwordstrails

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Are you teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing? Not only is BlackWords generally a fantastic resource for you, but there are specific teaching resources for you to check out, including National Curriculum aligned material. www.austlit.edu.au/education #naidocweek2026 #blackwords

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

How could we not mark NAIDOC Week by highlighting BlackWords, our single biggest and most significant dataset: records for over 27,000 works by nearly 8000 First Nations authors. BlackWords is led by co-ordinator Dominique Chen (Gamilaroi), supported by the AustLit team. #blackwords #naidoc2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Happy NAIDOC Week! To mark this year's theme, 50 Years of Deadly, BlackWords has created its longest trail yet: one deadly work for each year since NAIDOC became a week-long celebration in 1975. Explore below, and keep an eye out for more NAIDOC posts this week. www.austlit.edu.au/naidoc2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

For NAIDOC Week, today's quick search video is on searching by cultural heritage, whether you're looking for all First Nations authors or seeking information on a writer from a specific Country. Happy searching! #naidocweek2026 #blackwords #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Our latest 25 for 25 trail is Notables! How did we determine notability? We looked at stamps, currency, statues, and street names. Check it out at: www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver... #AustLit25

#AustLit25
NOTABLES
Continue to explore the trail!
#AustLit25
INFORMATION TRAIL 11 OF 25:
AustLit’s 25th Anniversary special:

Adam Lindsay Gordon
Best known for ‘The Dying Stockman’
#AustLit25
Adam Lindsay Gordon is memorialised with busts, obelisks, and plaques across the country. Most delightful of all, perhaps is his former horse-hitching post outside the Marine Hotel in Brighton, Victoria.
(Left: Gordon Reserve, Melbourne, statue).
Continue exploring

Steele Rudd
Best known for the Dad and Dave stories
#AustLit25
Steele Rudd is memorialised with a road and a park on the site of his family’s selection in Queensland, complete with a replica shingle hut.
There’s also a statue to him in Brisbane’s King George Square.
Continue exploring
(Right: King George Square statue).

P.L. Travers
Best known for Mary Poppins and its sequels
#AustLit25
P.L. Travers’ statues are more often of her famous creation: the magical nanny appears in Leicester Square, London, and in Maryborough, Queensland, and both Bowral and Ashfield, New South Wales.
Continue exploring
(Left: Leicester Square statue)

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Please consider supporting AustLit this EOFY. For 25 years, AustLit has connected readers, writers, researchers & educators to the literature that shapes our culture. Your donation helps ensure AustLit flourishes for the next 25. All gifts processed securely through UQ. donations.uq.edu.au/austlit

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Interested in the complexities of the kinds of books the Banned in Australia project highlights? This video will walk you through how to search *within* an AustLit project, leveraging the power of the Advanced Search exclusively on a specific subset of records. #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Following on from last week's (gasp!) literary scandals, today we're highlighting Professor Nicole Moore's Banned in Australia project, a bibliography that is currently (and horrifyingly) topical once again. www.austlit.edu.au/banned Gorgeous slides designed by Monica Clayton again! #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Our latest 25 Works for 25 Years information trail is live, and this one is on literary scandals. Just in time to take advantage of Bluesky's expanded image carousel, so you can enjoy all of Monica Clayton's beautiful slides. Explore more at: www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver... #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Given the current discussion around (further) NDIS cuts, we'd like to re-share this important resource on disabilities and loneliness. In Australia, people with a disability are twice as likely to experience loneliness and social isolation--which is why the funding for community support matters.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

This one is also a spectacular 2026 book cover. I would suggest we run a competition, but the Aust. Book Design Awards already do that.

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Michael Winkler @micwink.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Thanks to the legend WH Chong.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Apropos of nothing, this is one of our favourite covers this year. Just gorgeous.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Romance is often one of the earliest genres to grapple with moments of social change or disruption (see also: FIFO romances). Case in point below! We're expecting a romance novel where the anti-hero runs an AI data centre any day now.

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

This week, we're celebrating Australian fantasy, by drawing attention to a unique set of teaching resources published on AustLit. We've highlighted Anthony Eaton below, but there's more to explore! Check out the full list at: www.austlit.edu.au/teachingwith... #AustLit25

On a blue background, text reads:
AustLit's 25th Anniversary special:
For teachers:
Below the text, a black-frame banner shows five book covers, from left to right: a fragment of Isobelle Carmody's The Gathering, Ambelin Kwaymullina's The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, Anthony Eaton's Nightpeople, Sean Williams' The Stone Mage and the Sea, and a fragment of Alison Goodman's Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club.
Below the image, text reads:
Teaching with Fantasy
Continue to explore the project!

On a light blue background, a grey text box.
Text reads:
Teaching with Fantasy
Teaching with AustLit
Teaching with Fantasy is the outcome of a 2018 professional development event for teachers titled Teaching with Fantasy: Australian Fantasy Writers in Conversation and in the Classroom.

The event has resulted in a collection of teaching and learning resources for seven young adult fantasy texts.

This project delivers audio and video author interviews, and lesson plans related to the Australian Curriculum.

Continue exploring

On a light-blue background, a grey text box. Text reads:
Sample lesson plan: Nightpeople
Includes:
Video interview with author Anthony Eaton
Suggested lesson focus
Before reading activities
Close reading, interpretation, and critique
Creating and responding
Further reading and viewing
Black Line Masters
In the top right-hand corner of the text box is a section of the cover for Nightpeople, showing a futuristic tower in a post-apocalyptic landscape, surrounded by flying machines.

On a light-blue background, text reads:

AustLit is celebrating
25 years in 2026
For this momentous anniversary, we have a year’s worth of celebrations planned, from in-person and online events to project highlights, video guides, and information trails.

Celebrate with us by following, sharing our content and using #AustLit25 to share your Australian literature discoveries.

Visit our website for more details!
25 years of discovering Australian stories

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Last week, we posted our speculative fiction trail, as part of AustLit's 25 Trails for 25 Years. To follow up, this week's short video is on searching genre in the database. Video has captions, no sound. Happy searching! #austlit25 #discoveraustralianstories #readaustralian #readgenre #databases

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

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Australian Society of Authors @asauthors.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

There is still time to book in for our event for National Reconciliation Week! Learn how to engage in respectful collaboration, consultation, and storytelling practices to elevate First Nations stories, with Darren Rix, and co-author, Craig Cormick. Bookings: www.asauthors.org.au/events/telli...

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

To mark Reconciliation Week 2026, AustLit has launched a new BlackWords information trail, compiled by Juliette Davis. This year’s theme, 'All In', encourages active participation in reconciliation from all communities across the continent. Explore the trail at: www.austlit.edu.au/reconciliati...

On a buttery yellow background, the covers for Jeanine Leane's Walk Back Over, Aunty Fay Muir's Always Was Always Will Be and Anita Heiss's Am I Black Enough For You?
Below them, a light-blue banner with the text: Taking place between the anniversaries of the 1967 referendum (27 May) and the 1992 High Court Mabo decision (3 June), National Reconciliation Week is an important time to reflect on and strengthen relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, for the interests of all Australians.
Under this, the covers for Melissa Lucashenko's Edenglassie, Greg Driesse's Common Wealth, and Kim Scott's Taboo.

On a butter yellow background, the covers for Race, Colour & Identity, Anita Heiss's Our Race for Reconciliation, and Thomas Mayo's Always Was Always Will Be.
Below this, a light-pink banner with the following text: Works included in this trail range from 19th-century poems that criticised contemporary colonial brutality, through early twentieth century attempts to grapple with historical atrocities and mistreatment, to the increase in First Nations voices in poetry, on stage, and in novels.
Below this, the covers for Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman's The Seven Stages of Grieving, Monica Clare's Karobran, and Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris's Women of the Sun.

On a butter yellow background, three banners: light pink, then light blue, then light pink again.
In the top banner, text reads: This trail was compiled by Juliette Davis during an AustLit internship, with support and guidance from the AustLit staff.
In the middle banner, text reads: The colours of these tiles are drawn from the 2026 National Reconciliation artwork, Gaagal, by Gumbaynggirr Bundjalung artist
Otis Hope Carey.
For more information, see
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/our-work/national-reconciliation-week/
In the bottom banner, text reads: Explore the full trail at
https://www.austlit.edu.au/blackwordstrails

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Yesterday, we highlighted Dr Millicent Weber's audiobooks project. Today, our quick search video is on searching for audiobooks: it's easier than you might think! Video has captions but no sound. Are there aspects of the database you'd like more guidance on? Ask for a video guide! #austlit25

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

This time we're celebrating Audiobooks and Digital Book Culture, led by Dr Millicent Weber. This ongoing project materialises and makes available for research the relationships and entanglements of audiobook production. Slides by Monica Clayton. Explore at www.austlit.edu.au/audiobooks #austlit25

On a light blue background, an enormous pair of headphones, represented in black outline, cover four audiobooks: Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon, Red Dust Running, The Will of the Many, and The Silent Listener.
Text reads: AustLit's 25th Anniversary special: Research Project 7 of 25. Audiobooks. Continue to explore the project!

On a blue background, a grey text box. Header text reads: About Audiobooks & Digital Book Culture. Project start: 2024.
In the text box, text reads:
The Audiobooks and Digital Book Culture project has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of the Australian audiobook industry.
Four audiobook covers are shown in a row: Seven Little Australians, The Spill, The Drover's Wife, and Terra Nullius.
Text below the image reads:
For the first time, full bibliographic details about
Australian audiobooks have been integrated into the AustLit database.
This project materialises and makes available for
research the relationships and entanglements of audiobook production.

On a blue background, a grey text box.
Text reads:
During this project, the way in which AustLit manages audiobook data within the database has changed.
Although we do not yet know the full breadth of ways in which we will manage audio material, we have already established some changes to the data model.
An image is shown of a pair of white corded headphones resting on a blue-covered book.
Below the image, the text reads:
Explore the Audiobooks Digital Book Culture project on AustLit to learn more about how we are managing audiobooks and the direction we are headed.

On a blue background, text reads:

AustLit is celebrating
25 years in 2026
For this momentous anniversary, we have a year’s worth of celebrations planned, from in-person and online events to project highlights, video guides, and information trails.

Celebrate with us by following, sharing our content and using #AustLit25 to share your Australian literature discoveries.

Visit our website for more details!

25 years of discovering Australian stories

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

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AustLit @austlit.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

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