AustLit

The AustLit record for Alexis Wright. In the right-hand top corner, an orange box is circled in red. The box reads Follow and includes a space for an email address.

AustLit's tip for the day: did you know you can follow AustLit records? You can even follow your own record! Then you'll know exactly when we add your latest works to the database. You'll only be alerted to substantial updates (i.e., if we add a new work, not if we adjust a comma in your biography).

The AustLit record for Alexis Wright. In the right-hand top corner, an orange box is circled in red. The box reads Follow and includes a space for an email address.

AustLit's tip for the day: did you know you can follow AustLit records? You can even follow your own record! Then you'll know exactly when we add your latest works to the database. You'll only be alerted to substantial updates (i.e., if we add a new work, not if we adjust a comma in your biography).

Did you explore our information trail on adaptations yesterday? Today, our quick help video shows you how to search the database for adaptations: both works that have been adapted and works that are adaptations. (Video has captions, no sound.) Happy searching!

Between past and possibility: Ernest Thalayasingham MacIntyre (1934 – 2025) - Overland literary journal Reading Australia from Lanka and Lanka from Australia, MacIntyre is an artist who made new cultural and social landscapes visible — spaces that Lankan Australians might take as a springboard for our o...

“Reading Australia from Lanka and Lanka from Australia, MacIntyre is an artist who made new cultural and social landscapes visible.”

Suvendrini Perera remembers the playwright Ernest Thalayasingham MacIntyre, who died in December at the age of 91.

Red background, on which text reads AustLit's 25th Anniversary special: Information trail 4 of 25. Adaptations. Continue to explore the trail! Image across the middle of the tile shows three covers: Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife (left), the promotional poster for Chinese TV series Miss S (middle), and Nicki Greenberg's The Great Gatsby (right).

Red background, with a grey textbox. In the top left-hand corner of the text box is the cover of Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife. Text reads: 'In the Snowy Mountains, Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned. A searing reimagining of Leah Purcell's play and Henry Lawson's classic short story.'

On a red background, a grey textbox. In the top right-hand corner of the text box, the promotional image for the Chinese TV series Miss S. Text reads: 'An adaptation of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Miss S stars Mai Yi Li as a beautiful and witty socialite who forms an unlikely alliance with a righteous police inspector, solving numerous cases in and around Shanghai in the 1920s.'

On a red background, a grey text box. In the top right-hand corner, the cover of Nicki Greenberg's graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Text reads: ‘In homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age classic, this acclaimed graphic adaptation brings to life the glitter, the melancholy and the grand and crumpled dreams of Fitzgerald's unforgettable characters. Daisy, Nick, Tom, Jordan and Gatsby himself are rendered true to Fitzgerald's original characterisation, with a difference: they are not human.’

The fourth of our anniversary information trails is all about adaptations, in all their forms! Compiled by Charles Sturt student and AustLit intern Erin Richman, and with beautiful slides designed by Monica Clayton, this one is fun from 1885 all the way to 2020.
www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver...

Curious about the nuances of searching for film and television on AustLit? Do we have the video for you! (Captions, no sound.)
Remember, all these searches can be combined with any of our other parameters for very granular results.

If you saw our celebration of ScreenLit, you might be curious about how to explore AustLit for film or television. This brief video (captions: no sound) will walk you through some of those search options!

#AustLit25

Super excited about the release of Allanah Hunt's debut novel, FOREVER AND EVER!

There's a launch at Where The Wild Things Are Bookshop on March 13... I'll be there, will you?

@austlit.bsky.social @bronfredericks.bsky.social @textpublishing.bsky.social

wherethewildthingsare.com.au/pages/13996-...

Text reads: AustLit's 25th anniversary special: Research Project 1 of 25. In the centre of the page, two rows of stylised film, showing title screens from the following films and TV series: top row, left to right, Muriel's Wedding, The Sapphires, Heartbreak High (new series); bottom row, left to right, Ali's Wedding, Puberty Blues (new series), Red Dog. Text below reads: ScreenLit. Continue to explore the project!

On a blue background, a grey text box. Text above the box reads: About ScreenLit Project start: 2009 In the text box, text reads: ScreenLit provides information-rich records about Australian cinema productions (including short and feature films, documentaries, and animated films) and television programs (including made-for-TV movies, series, mini-series, serials and documentaries). A row of three images show the posters for Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger version), Bran Nue Day, and The Babadook. Below that, text reads: Chronologically, the resource begins with the emergence of Australian film production in the first decades of the twentieth century.

On a blue background, a grey text box. Text reads: ScreenLit will continue to evolve over time and is continually being updated. Explore the ScreenLit project on AustLit and please contact us if you would like to assist us in expanding information about Australian film, television and other audio-visual storytelling methods. In the middle, a banner of images shows the posters for the films and TV series Unsound, Moulin Rouge, Follow the Rabbit-proof Fence, Boy Swallows Universe, and The Dry. Below that, text reads: AustLit welcomes contributions from scholars and specialists in the area in order to build an authoritative and detailed resource for research and general interest.

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

Today, we're highlighting one of our bigger research datasets: ScreenLit! This is AustLit's collection of bibliographical records on film and television from the earliest days.
Find out more at www.austlit.edu.au/screenlit
Beautiful slides by Monica Clayton.
#AustLit25

Multi-coloured calendar setting out the events, projects, and other social media posts for AustLit's 25th birthday.

Updated calendar for the #AustLit25 celebrations: check out what is coming up next, including trails on adaptations and multicultural writing, as well as projects on screen, drama, and Irishness. More details on the anniversary site!
www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver...

Corella Translates | AustLit In collaboration with Corella Press™ and hosted by AustLit, UQ's School of Languages and Cultures publishes a selection of Australian short stories translated into languages other than English

You can find "The Five Lazy Sisters" and other translated stories at UQ's Corella Translates page on Austlit @austlit.bsky.social
www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page...

GenreCon 2026 – Aurealis Awards Presentation Night Book your spot on Humanitix - GenreCon 2026 – Aurealis Awards Presentation Night hosted by Queensland Writers Centre. Thomas Dixon Centre, 406 Montague Rd, West End QLD 4101, Australia. Saturday 21st ...

The Aurealis Awards ceremony is taking place THIS SATURDAY as part of GenreCon in Brisbane. With a beautiful venue, and hosted by the always engaging Eugen Bacon, it's shaping up to be a great night, and if you can make it in person, you absolutely won't regret it!

On a red background, three stylised black and white frames show a scene from The Thorn Birds, a close-up of the cover of For No Mortal Creature, and a scene from Addition. Text reads AustLit's 25th Anniversary special: Information trail 3 of 25.

On a red background, a grey text box with, in the upper right-hand corner, the cover of The Thorn Birds. Text reads: The Thorn Birds Romance, Historical Fiction - Novel & adaptations Colleen McCullough (1977) #AustLit25 The Thorn Birds is the unforgettable story of the Clearys, spanning three generations; a sweeping family saga of dreams, titanic struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love in the Australian Outback. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma.

On a red background, a grey text box with, in the upper right-hand corner, the cover of For No Mortal Creature. Text reads: For No Mortal Creature Romance, Fantasy - Novel Keshe Chow (2025) #AustLit25 When Jia Yi finds herself alive again after being killed by an enemy’s sword, she realizes she possesses a rare power: the ability to move between life and death. With her new gift comes the discovery of a mysterious spirit realm teeming with ghosts like herself—and Lin, the boy she once loved before his betrayal tore them apart. When Jia’s beloved grandmother dies under suspicious circumstances, she is forced to follow in an attempt to save her. In the death realm, though, even ghosts have ghosts. To survive, Jia must rely on both Lin and her longtime enemy, the cold and enigmatic Prince Essien. With tensions high and new and old connections blossoming, Jia must confront the ghosts of her past . . . or risk remaining one herself.

On a red background, a grey text box with, in the upper right-hand corner, the cover of Addition. Text reads: Addition Romance, Humour - Novel & adaptations Toni Jordan (2008) #AustLit25 Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts. The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local cafe (920). The number of poppy seeds on her orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she'll take to eat it. Grace counts everything, because that way there are no unpleasant surprises. Seamus Joseph O'Reilly (also a 19) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her cupboards without conducting an inventory, or leave her flat without measuring the walls. Grace's problem is that Seamus doesn't count. Her other problem is ...he does. As Grace struggles to balance a new relationship with old habits, to find a way to change while staying true to herself, she realises that nothing is more chaotic than love.

Our third anniversary trail celebrates Australian romance, compiled by Ashleigh Lowry! As always, this is a taste not a best of. The slides, by Monica Clayton, highlight @keshewrites.bsky.social, Colleen McCullough, and Toni Jordan, but check out the full list at:
www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver...

Screenshot of email announcement that reads: Meanjin returns home Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will become the new custodian of Meanjin, Australia's most eminent literary journal, bringing the publication back to Brisbane 80 years after it relocated to Melbourne. QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said: “QUT is delighted to bring Meanjin home to Meanjin / Magandjin – the lands of the Turrbal and Yugara peoples – where the journal was founded and where our Gardens Point campus now stands.

Meanjin's back!

I mean, we're in Brisbane!

Although we do wonder sometimes where Olive had room to keep the other sixteen dolls ...

Curator call-out OPEN for First Nations creative!

Emerging Writers' Festival is seeking an emerging First Nations producer to join our programming team as 2026 Guest Curator, a curation opportunity with a provided stipend.

Full info: emergingwritersfestival.org.au/work-with-us/

Welcome to another quick search guide! If you've checked our recent trail, on Aust. films, you might have wondered how we made it. This time, we searched on 'form', which on AustLit is a question of 'thingness'. Looking for a specific 'thing' (novel, picture book, film)? This is the search for you.

AustLit’s 25th Anniversary special: INFORMATION TRAIL 2 OF 25: Black strip of stylised film, showing, from left-to-right, Mel Gibson in Mad Max, a scene from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and a shot from Satellite Boy. AUSTRALIAN FILMS Continue to explore the trail!

Text reads: Satellite Boy Adventure/Family Catriona McKenzie (2012) In a grey text box, text reads: Set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Satellite Boy tells the story of Pete who lives in an abandoned drive-in cinema with his grandfather Jagamarra, whom Pete calls Jubbi. Jagamarra is determined to pass on knowledge and culture to his grandson, but Pete is a reluctant learner. When the cinema is purchased by a mining company and slated for demolition, Pete and his best friend Kalmain set off on a journey to save their home. When the two get lost in the remote country of the Bungle Bungles, their survival depends on the lessons Pete’s grandfather has taught him. In the top left-hand corner of the text box is the poster for Satellite Boy, showing a young Indigenous boy standing next to a burning chair, with a derelict drive-in movie screen behind him against the sunset.

Text reads: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1984) Musical/Drama/Comedy Stephan Elliot (1984) In a grey text box, text reads: 'Tick' Belrose, a Sydney drag queen, accepts his ex-wife's invitation to bring his stage show to the outback. Felicia, a younger drag queen, and the grieving Bernadette. They set out for Alice Springs in a second-hand bus that they name 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. The journey takes them to Broken Hill, Coober Pedy and are rescued by an open-minded mechanic when Priscilla breaks down in the desert. In Alice Springs, Tick meets the young son he barely knows and the three climb Kings Canyon together in full drag, before making their debut at the Alice Springs casino. In the top right-hand corner of the text box is the theatrical poster for Priscilla, showing a bus in a desert with an elaborately costumed drag queen riding on the roof, and three costumed drag queens at the bottom front.

Text reads: Mad Max Action/Sci-fi James McCausland & George Miller (1979). Against a grey text box, text reads: In a post-apocalyptic Australia, law and order has begun to break down due to energy shortages, despite the efforts of Main Force Patrol (MFP) officers like Max Rockatansky. After Rockatansky encounters Toecutter's motorcycle gang, who are running runshod over isolated communities, he grows disillusioned with his role in the MFP. At first convinced by his superior officer not to resign, he is driven into a state of cold-blooded revenge when Toecutter's gang murder his wife and young son. In the top right-hand side of the text box is the theatrical poster for Mad Max, showing a leather clad and helmeted man, holding a gun, standing in front of a car. The background is on fire.

Our next information trail for #AustLit25 is live, and to celebrate the upcoming #AACTAs, it's on Australian film. Beautifully compiled by Shala Schlicht and with gorgeous slides by Monica Clayton. Don't forget to check the calendar for future trails!
Explore here: www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver...

AustLit’s 25th Anniversary special: INFORMATION TRAIL 2 OF 25: Black strip of stylised film, showing, from left-to-right, Mel Gibson in Mad Max, a scene from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and a shot from Satellite Boy. AUSTRALIAN FILMS Continue to explore the trail!

Text reads: Satellite Boy Adventure/Family Catriona McKenzie (2012) In a grey text box, text reads: Set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Satellite Boy tells the story of Pete who lives in an abandoned drive-in cinema with his grandfather Jagamarra, whom Pete calls Jubbi. Jagamarra is determined to pass on knowledge and culture to his grandson, but Pete is a reluctant learner. When the cinema is purchased by a mining company and slated for demolition, Pete and his best friend Kalmain set off on a journey to save their home. When the two get lost in the remote country of the Bungle Bungles, their survival depends on the lessons Pete’s grandfather has taught him. In the top left-hand corner of the text box is the poster for Satellite Boy, showing a young Indigenous boy standing next to a burning chair, with a derelict drive-in movie screen behind him against the sunset.

Text reads: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1984) Musical/Drama/Comedy Stephan Elliot (1984) In a grey text box, text reads: 'Tick' Belrose, a Sydney drag queen, accepts his ex-wife's invitation to bring his stage show to the outback. Felicia, a younger drag queen, and the grieving Bernadette. They set out for Alice Springs in a second-hand bus that they name 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. The journey takes them to Broken Hill, Coober Pedy and are rescued by an open-minded mechanic when Priscilla breaks down in the desert. In Alice Springs, Tick meets the young son he barely knows and the three climb Kings Canyon together in full drag, before making their debut at the Alice Springs casino. In the top right-hand corner of the text box is the theatrical poster for Priscilla, showing a bus in a desert with an elaborately costumed drag queen riding on the roof, and three costumed drag queens at the bottom front.

Text reads: Mad Max Action/Sci-fi James McCausland & George Miller (1979). Against a grey text box, text reads: In a post-apocalyptic Australia, law and order has begun to break down due to energy shortages, despite the efforts of Main Force Patrol (MFP) officers like Max Rockatansky. After Rockatansky encounters Toecutter's motorcycle gang, who are running runshod over isolated communities, he grows disillusioned with his role in the MFP. At first convinced by his superior officer not to resign, he is driven into a state of cold-blooded revenge when Toecutter's gang murder his wife and young son. In the top right-hand side of the text box is the theatrical poster for Mad Max, showing a leather clad and helmeted man, holding a gun, standing in front of a car. The background is on fire.

Our next information trail for #AustLit25 is live, and to celebrate the upcoming #AACTAs, it's on Australian film. Beautifully compiled by Shala Schlicht and with gorgeous slides by Monica Clayton. Don't forget to check the calendar for future trails!
Explore here: www.austlit.edu.au/25th-anniver...

The schedule of the attending publishers and agents for our Picture Book Matchmaker event has been announced! ✨

Applications will open 9 February and will close on 19 February.

View the schedule: www.asauthors.org.au/picture-book...

2025 Aurealis Awards Shortlist Announcement We congratulate the Aurealis Awards finalists for 2025! The 2025 Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier speculative fiction award, attracted more than 775 entries across 14 categories, including reco…

Congratulations to the finalists of the 2025 Aurealis Awards!

aurealisawards.org/2026/02/01/2...

Member benefit [followed by AustLit logo]. The ASA and AustLit, the national database of literature and storytelling, are delighted to announce a new partnership. ASA members now have free access to AustLit, which includes over a million records containing biographical and bibliographical information on Australian and First Nations storytelling, as well as rich datasets, information trails, digital exhibitions, and so much more.

Announcing a new partnership with @asauthors.bsky.social, about which we are very excited! Are you a member of the ASA? If so, check out this new member benefit.

‘We didn’t make it for a white audience’: how black theatre took centre stage in Australia In the last five years, African diaspora theatre has swept from the fringes on to the country’s main stages – fuelled by artists like Zindzi Okenyo When Zindzi Okenyo takes the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) stage in June for John Patrick Shanley’s Tony award-winning play Doubt – the role played by Viola Davis in the film – it will be a particularly special moment: her fourth main-stage role playing a black woman in a 20-year theatre career. “I’m really excited about it, I haven’t had a black role for so long,” she says. For the last five years, Okenyo has been working behind the scenes to create more opportunities and safer spaces for black performers, not as an actor but as a director. When we meet in mid-January, she’s in rehearsals for her production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Pulitzer and Tony award-winning dysfunctional family dramedy Purpose, opening at STC next week – with an entirely black cast. Continue reading...

‘We didn’t make it for a white audience’: how black theatre took centre stage in Australia

So are we! One of our favourite things to have happened this year! We'll definitely be promoting that more on here shortly.

And if there's a particular part of AustLit that you would like to see a pithy video on, let us know! We're a big, complicated database, and are happy to offer guidance to navigating us.

Now you're exploring information trails, are you curious about how we create them? One way is to search the subject-concept thesaurus for works on the same theme. This pithy video (captions: no audio) will walk you through that process. Stay tuned for more video guides!
#AustLit25 #databases

On a blue background, a grey text box. Text reads: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories & Cultures All recommended texts in this environment are by First Nations authors Includes: - suggested texts for each organising idea under all three categories: Country/Place, Culture, and People - exercises for digital literacy development, including visual data exercises - recreational reading recommendations - additional AustLit content suggestions - First Nations resources on embedding Indigenous perspectives - guidance on finding information on stories in Indigenous languages On the bottom right hand corner of the text box, a logo showing an open laptop, with four books resting on its keyboard, spines outwards. The front book has a mustard cover with the BlackWords logo.

On a turquoise background, a grey text box. Text reads: Australia’s Relationship with Asia Includes: - suggested texts for each of the organising themes: Knowing Asia and its diversity, Understanding Asia’s global significance, and Growing Asia-Australia engagement - exercises for digital literacy development, including visual data exercises - recreational reading recommendations - additional AustLit content suggestions - guidance on finding information about Australian stories in Asian languages In the top right-hand corner of the text box, a log showing an open grey laptop with four books resting on its keyboard, spines outwards. The front book has a blue cover and shows an icon of the globe.

On a turquoise background, a grey text box. Text reads: Sustainability Includes: - suggested texts for each of the organising themes: Systems, World Views, Design, and Futures - exercises for digital literacy development, including visual data exercises - recreational reading recommendations - additional AustLit content suggestions On the bottom right of the text box, a logo showing an open grey laptop with four books resting on its keyboard. The front book has a green cover with an icon of two open hands cupping a plant shoot.

Looking for more detail? Look no further!
www.austlit.edu.au/aeccp
Slides designed by Monica Clayton.

A turquoise background with a series of book titles in a band across it. Above the band sits an icon of a laptop with four books resting on it, spines facing outwards. The front back has the AustLit logo on the cover. Test reads: AustLit's 25th Anniversary Special. For teachers: AECCP. AustLit Environments for Cross-curriculum Priorities. Continue to explore the project! #AustLit25

On a turquoise background, a grey text box. Text reads: AustLit Environments for Cross-Curriculum Priorities is a space designed to support learning and teaching within the Australian Curriculum (v.9) cross-curriculum priorities. These Learning Environments provide rich content and resources for teachers and librarians to help them to identify texts relevant to the three cross-curriculum priorities. The Learning Environments are also designed to support digital literacy development for students as database users. Below the text box, three icons, each showing a grey laptop with four books sitting on the keyboard. The left-hand book has a mustard cover with the BlackWords logo. The middle book has a blue cover with an icon of a globe. The right-hand book has a green cover with an icon of two hands cupping a plant shoot.

On a turquoise background, a grey text box. Text reads: Project Team: A/Prof Maggie Nolan, Dr Amy Schoonens, Dr Catriona Mills, and Bianca Millroy. With contributions from... Angelene Karas, Jake Davidson, Hannah Rae, Hannah Park, Andrew Millar, Aeryn Brown, Aster Ross, and Emily Huang. Generously supported by the auDa Foundation, these Learning Environments are freely available across Australia. Explore. Embed. Discover Australian stories. Two logos are included: on the left, the auDa Foundation, and on the right, the logo for AustLit's 25th anniversary.

On a turquoise background, the following text: 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

To celebrate back-to-school week, we're highlighting our AustLit Environments for Cross-Curriculum Priorities. Check them out if you're in the market to map Australian works onto the National Curriculum and encourage digital literacy!
www.austlit.edu.au/aeccp
#discoverAustralianstories #AustLit25

It is intriguing, isn't it? We're a sucker for fantasy noir: it's a bit of a niche genre in terms of quantity, but there's some fascinating works in there!