Catriona Menzies-Pike

Catriona Menzies Pike on what the Los Angeles Review of Books mess says about the landscape for literary journals, and the big test ahead for the new Meanjin. On point as always

Thanks for sharing Jane!

I’m still writing my newsletter Infra Dig, which covers digital literary culture and related themes. The latest deals mainly with editorial independence - at Meanjin and LARB.

infra-dig.ghost.io/returning-ho...

It’s very frustrating and I think you’re correct that it will make critical writing even less visible…

Albanese says Australia supports US action against Iran and stands with the Iranian people’s ‘struggle against oppression’ Department of foreign affairs warns travellers of risk of reprisal attacks, further escalation and flight cancellations in Middle East

Yep, Albo all in www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Carney is rightly getting hosed for this softly-softly response - but you know what, I think Albanese, desperate to make it look like Australia’s most important defence partnership hasn’t been sidelined, is going to be much more effusive. (Happy to be wrong!)

The Millenial King and his wife, the Gracious Commoner

Bracing myself for months of soft-focus features on royals and their noble royal feelings about all of this

💯

Point taken - but there are plenty of functional democracies that do not have a hereditary head of state. The question is hardly, do you want to be like the US or the UK? That said, I cannot conceive of a sane conversation about constitutional reform in AU public right now.

The British monarchy is an institution that is rotten to the core, and yet we must endure the most sentimental drivel about our beloved royals - even from the so-called republicans. Get rid of them all, I say.

I’m sure every editor in the country is scrambling for comment pieces on the Andrew debacle right now and that’s all we’ll read for days. But in the absence of any credible progressive movement for constitutional change, what chance is there that this will galvanise republican sentiment?

If only it were possible to wrest the microphone on Australian republicanism from the easy does it yacht club crowd at the ARM. The ARM promise that nothing would change in an Australian republic is yet another example of small target politics making itself irrelevant.

wtf

Lots of culture in that sentence! Thank you for sharing.

I’ve been out of action for a few weeks and not able to read much. My main response to the AWW debacle, now that I’m catching up properly, is, is this shit for real? I wrote a newsletter about risk, cancel culture and concussion. infra-dig.ghost.io/hard-surfaces/

Reader, I wept.

María Corina Machado says she presented Trump with her Nobel peace prize medal The Venezuelan opposition leader did not confirm whether the US president accepted the award

Knut Hamsun gave his Nobel medal to Joseph Goebbels in 1943, if anyone is looking for a precedent.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Sounds like TD is out too. Surprised me, but happy to be wrong.

Everything is tainted, I agree, and it’s incumbent on those of us who aren’t getting kicked off panels for gutter racist reasons to show solidarity with those who are.

This is an excellent question. Not so long ago I would’ve expected Tony Burke - or any arts minister in an Albanese government - to defend vigorously artistic freedom in general and the artistic freedom of minorities in particular. Gutting to have been proved so wrong, so often.

He’s been a hugely disappointing Arts Minister - small target policymaking for arts and culture blows. So many opportunities squadwred; he will leave the sector in utter disarray

Ripper.

I think we can safely assume he’s not going anywhere

Looks like National Treasure Trent Dalton is still in.

Imagine if the board of a major arts org issued a statement saying they would respect and defend the programming decisions of their staff? Unlikely to happen, but it would be an invigorating and much needed win for artistic and curatorial freedom.

I get that people love to hang shit on arts administrators but we need to be clear that this is a governance issue. The AWW staff were the ones who put the program together - and the board overrode them. Will other writers fest boards take a similarly interventionist role re programming this year?

I’ve only been to AWW/Adelaide Festival a few times and loved it, in part because the programming is intellectually ambitious and, for the most part, doesn’t condescend to audiences. For mine, it’s the best big Oz writers fest. The board has squandered that legacy.

Imagine being a board member of a major arts organisation, one with a long and storied history as the Adelaide Festival does, one that has flourished in spite of a federal funding and policy environment, and being willing to scupper it on such specious, racist grounds.

STATEMENT FROM THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE 8 January 2026 Following a statement from the board responsible for the Adelaide Festival organisation and all Adelaide Writers’ Week events, The Australia Institute is withdrawing its support and sponsored events from this year’s literary festival. The Australia Institute has valued being part of discussions at the event, which in the past have promoted bravery, freedom of expression and the exchange of ideas. Censoring or cancelling authors is not in the spirit of an open and free exchange of ideas.

Statement from @australiainstitute.org.au on Adelaide Festival.