Meanjin Quarterly

26/02/2024

New year, new bag!

Your Meanjin 2024 tote is made in Australia from 405gsm recycled cotton by the good people of CONTAIN in Abbotsford.

It’s in a sumptuous deep blue with contrast off-white inner binding and a lovely big pocket for your wallet, phone and keys.

Our masthead is on one side, while the other invites us to ‘Embrace Australia’s finest writers’.

Designed by Stephen Banham, this year’s tote will happily join all your literary adventures.

There’s a very limited number and we expect them to sell super fast. Here’s how to bag yours:

• Buy now for $40
• $95 with our special Meanjin Archive Set
• $150 with print subscription renewals
• Free with all new print subscriptions until the end of March!

https://meanjin.com.au/shop/

23/02/2024

Here's the English and Creative Writing noticeboard at James Cook University, where Elizabeth Smyth has just posted this handsome 3D of Meanjin 83.1! Look out for Elizabeth's work of short fiction 'Alone together' in our Autumn 2024 edition—out 15 March.

22/02/2024

"I condemn all forms of racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia, and all forms of discrimination—today and always. I denounce all acts of terrorism. I diminish my fear for the future with the courage of those who speak difficult truths. I strive to support that courageous work—today and always."

—Meanjin Editor Esther Anatolitis

'A mute voice has no echo.':

This is why we champion tenacious work. This is why we’re here together.

13/02/2024

Announcing the Meanjin InPlace Residencies!

Meanjin and InPlace today announce a new partnership to support writers of shorter works with dedicated writing time, much-needed funds, and a publication opportunity.

The two Meanjin InPlace Residents—the Meanjin InPlace Autumn Resident and the Meanjin InPlace Spring Resident—will each spend two weeks at the beautiful Garambi Baanj/Laughing Waters Cultural Precinct, operated by InPlace.

During their residency, they will complete a work in any genre for publication in Meanjin.

Each residency is valued at up to $10,000. Residents receive a $5000 stipend plus up to $5000 to cover travel, car hire, child care and any other costs associated with their two-week residency. This generous support is possible with thanks to InPlace’s Creative Australia Arts Projects for Organisations grant.

The 2024 Meanjin InPlace Autumn Residency is open to writers from culturally and racially marginalised communities. Applications close at noon AEDT on Monday 11 March 2024.
https://meanjin.com.au/blog/apply-for-the-meanjin-inplace-autumn-residency/

The 2024 Meanjin InPlace Spring Residency is open to First Nations writers writing in language, either entirely or in part. Applications will open later this year. More on our website!

Applications close at noon AEDT on Monday 11 March.

06/02/2024

🚨 COVER REVEAL 🚨
MEANJIN 83.1 AUTUMN 2024
OUT FRIDAY 15 MARCH

With a blindingly fluorescent cover by Stephen Banham from the Letterbox to ignite the ideas that move and radicalise us.

Poetry is where Meanjin began, and Autumn 2024 is Meanjin's first with new Poetry Editor Jeanine Leane - be sure to include this issue in your collection!

There's Tom Doig on 'Ten years on from Hazelwood: last decade's second-worst disaster'. Marcus Westbury reconfiguring capitalism in 'The agency and the equity'. A venturous interview with Peter Polites. Elese Dowden's joyful 'Australia in Three Books' on national treasure π.O.. André Dao's superb 'State of the (Writing) Nation' oration. A Clare Wright memoir piece that packs a powerful punch. And plenty more fiction, memoir, essays, reviews and experiments.

All framed by this season's Meanjin Paper by Arrernte Elder Theresa Penangke Alice: 'Ilkakelheme akngakelheme - resisting assimilation'.

In heavy times, we read with heavy hearts, and reflect with open minds. Embrace Australia's finest writers.
https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

03/01/2024

Rare opportunity to join Meanjin! Following the departure of Tess Smurthwaite after seven stellar years, we’re looking for an outstanding Production Editor to work towards the highest publication standards for Meanjin, the best relationships with our readers and writers, and the efficient management of our print and online production.

This is Meanjin‘s key editorial workflow role, working closely with Editor Esther Anatolitis in a collaborative relationship that values intellectual curiosity, rigorous debate and editorial precision.

First Peoples, people with disability, and people from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds, are strongly encouraged to apply.

To be considered for this role, you must follow our application process. Please read our How to Apply document carefully before preparing your application.

Applications close at 12:00pm AEDT (noon) on Tuesday 16 January 2024

https://meanjin.com.au/blog/join-us-as-production-editor/

22/12/2023

After seven extraordinary years, it’s time for us to farewell our brilliant Deputy Editor Tess Smurthwaite, and wish her all the very best on her next adventures—
https://meanjin.com.au/blog/meanjin-farewells-deputy-editor-tess-smurthwaite-after-seven-extraordinary-years/

14/11/2023

Summer warms us, brings us together, opens our hearts.

With a special focus on fiction and art, there's plenty to read in our Summer 2023 issue, out next month – and plenty more for us to talk about. The days grow longer, and at night the sky stays light. Embrace Australia's finest writing.

At the end of this momentous year, we begin by listening. This edition's Meanjin Paper 'Yulendj Boonwurrung' is by Boonwurrung Elder N'Arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, offering a history of the first people of Melbourne, the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boonwurrung.⁠

You can pre-order a copy via the Melbourne University Publishing webstore: https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-4-paperback-softback
Or subscribe: https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

14/09/2023

Devoted entirely to work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and artists, Meanjin 82.3 Spring 2023 is out today! This special edition is Guest-Edited by Bridget Caldwell-Bright and Eugenia Flynn, and framed around notions of cultural sovereignty and place.

Click here to see the full list of pieces: https://meanjin.com.au/editions/

If you're not a subscriber, sign up now! https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

Or, you can order an individual copy through the Melbourne University Publishing website.
https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-3-paperback-softback

This edition of Meanjin is available for online order at a discounted rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers only. Apply the code MOBPRICE at checkout on the MUP website. https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-3-paperback-softback

16/08/2023

🚨 COVER REVEAL 🚨
Meanjin 82.3 Spring 2023

With the bold work of Tony Albert (Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku Yalanji peoples) from his iconoclastic ‘You Wreck Me’ series, get ready for timely pieces from some of our finest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers. Guest-Edited by Eugenia Flynn and Bridget Caldwell-Bright. Out 15 September.

05/07/2023

We all love being read to – especially in winter!

Join us for the first of our MEANJIN MONDAYS Zoom sessions and let’s listen to three writers with new work in Meanjin 82.2 Winter 2023:

- Mohammed Massoud Morsi will read his story ‘Picture of a Peanut Gallery’

- Cynthia Troup will perform her experimental piece ‘OUTtakes nine to thirty-eight’

- Patrick Lenton will read his rather timely essay ‘Why does Elon Musk, the largest clown in the clown car, simply not eat the other clowns?’

Put the kettle on, pour a lovely glass of red, or don the headphones for your homeward commute. See you there!

MEANJIN MONDAYS
5:00-6:00pm AEST Monday 10 July
RSVP by lunchtime Monday 10 July to receive the Zoom link:

We all love being read to – especially in winter! Join us for our MEANJIN MONDAYS Zoom session and let’s listen to three fabulous writers.

15/06/2023

Have you already seen that eye-catching cover in bookshop windows? What does that hidden word say…? Just wait til you’re holding it in your hands!⁠
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Meanjin 82.2 Winter 2023 is out today 🥳⁠
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This edition marks a new direction for our journal. It’s the first edition to reframe The Meanjin Paper as a piece by a First Nations Elder, and it features a bold new design.⁠
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Click here to see the full list of pieces: https://meanjin.com.au/editions/⁠
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If you haven't already, you can take out a subscription from just $5 a month: meanjin.com.au/subscribe/
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Or, order a copy from the webstore: https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-2-paperback-softback

24/05/2023

Meanjin Winter 2023 marks a new direction for the journal. It's the first edition to reframe The Meanjin Paper as a piece by a First Nations Elder that greets us the moment we sit down to read. It's the first to introduce new sections that assess the state of the nation, welcome experiments, and cast a long gaze across one particular field.

And it's the first by new designer Stephen Banham, the internationally renowned typographer who has dedicated his career to creating a distinctly Australian graphic design language.

Featuring the finest new poetry, fiction, essays, memoir and more—including poetry by Kirli Saunders, Ella Ferris Simeon Kronenberg; fiction by Mohammed Massoud Morsi, Lisa Nan Joo, Belinda Paxton and Dan Hogan; essays by Marcia Langton, Tom McIlroy, Catherine Ryan, Lur Alghurabi and Craig Foster; experiments by Cynthia Troup, Justin Clemens & Jason Barker, and Alex Selenitsch; a compelling interview with Maxine Beneba Clark, marking the return of this regular feature; and more.

Opening with the Meanjin Paper by Gaja Kerry Charlton, this is a must-have edition as Editor Esther Anatolitis continues to reinterpret Founding Editor Clem Christesen's commitment 'to make clear the connection between literature and politics'.

27/03/2023

If you're in Melbourne, we'd be delighted for you to join us in the Readings Carlton laneway for an evening of mini-manifestos and moral challenges tomorrow night.

We'll be launching Meanjin Autumn 2023 on the street with readings from Julien Leyre, π .o., Carl Walsh, Eliza Dune Daiza, Zara Gudnason and Alison J. Barton.

Editor Esther Anatolitis and the good people at Readings present a bold evening’s conversation about preparing for what comes next.

To give you a taste, we've released Julien's piece 'Who Should Die, and What Should We Do with the Bodies?' from the paywall, so it's now free to read and share: https://meanjin.com.au/essays/who-should-die-and-what-should-we-do-with-the-bodies/

When: Wednesday 29 March at 6:30pm

Where: The laneway beside Readings, 309 Lygon Street Carlton

It's a free event, but bookings are essential. Please book here: https://www.readings.com.au/events/meanjin-autumn-launch

Join us in the Readings Carlton laneway for an evening of mini-manifestos and moral challenges—and let’s launch Meanjin Autumn 2023 together! French-Australian writer, educator, and governance innovator Julien Leyre will read from his latest piece. With Editor Esther Anatolitis and other special...

15/03/2023

Look out for Meanjin 82.1 from today! With critical and creative pieces spanning the domestic to the epic, it’s the great big reset our autumn needs. Essays on beekeeping, gardening, laundry, love and refuge, resistance and asylum, misunderstanding and reconnection and reckoning. The end of the world, the end of time, the end of a political career, the rise of an ethics remade.

Michael Mohammed Ahmad’s memoir, lovingly illustrated by Matt Chun, will punch your gut and deepen your heart. Kerry Bulloojeeno Archibald Moran’s poetry beats a rhythm of remembrance and anticipation. Zara Gudnason’s piece opening our National Accounts will recast the way your body sits in your own home. There is so much more to tell you—fifty pieces for us to read, alone or together, aloud or just quietly, once or many times over.

Click here to see the full list of contents: https://meanjin.com.au/editions/

Take out a subscription here: https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

Or order a copy via the Melbourne University Publishing webstore here: https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-1-paperback-softback--1

09/02/2023

Light, air and the autumn wind. Good drying weather. Ethics and history and peace and war and the laundry. Taking stock. Abandoned cities, lost children, political legacies emptied of all honour. 孝弟也其为仁之本. How we commemorate, and what we forget. The cost of education, the cost of living, the costs of doing nothing. Insects, birds, bulls, deer, saplings, forests, the Great Barrier Reef. Ruin p**n and inspiration p**n. Ethical beekeeping, hydrogeology, the second person.

Meanjin 82.1 Autumn 2023 invites us to stop and take stock. Ben Eltham on Scott Morrison’s corrupted miracle; Eugenia Flynn’s Australia in Three Books; Michael Mohammad Ahmad’s memoir piece, illustrated by Matt Chun; Julien Leyre’s explorations asking who should die and what should we do with the bodies?

Poetry by Kerry Bulloojeeno Archibald Moran, David Ishaya Osu, π.ο. and more; critical and creative pieces spanning the domestic to the epic from Eleanor Limprecht, John Kinsella, Zara Gudnason, Sharon Du, Michael McGirr, and more.

Don’t ever come home with a băng đảng haircut like that. Solar Punk and Chengyu and the Argonauts. What a woman ‘should’ be. Housing and home, love and Metta, class and compassion. Understanding where it is that we exist when we’re gathering our forces. Let’s get our house in order—and prepare for what comes next. It’s going to be a big year.

The edition will be out on 16 March. We can't wait.

Pre-order a copy here: https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-82-no-1-paperback-softback--1

or subscribe: https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

18/01/2023

We’re proud to announce Amy McQuire as winner of the 2022 Hilary McPhee Award for her essay ‘The Act of Disappearing: On the silences that shroud the disappearances of Aboriginal women and girls’, published in Meanjin 81.4 Summer 2022.

Congratulations, Amy!

https://meanjin.com.au/blog/meanjin-announces-amy-mcquire-as-winner-of-the-2022-hilary-mcphee-award/

You can read her essay here: https://meanjin.com.au/essays/the-act-of-disappearing/

We do not know how many Aboriginal women have gone ‘missing’ in this country. The archives are filled with the ‘missing’: the Aboriginal women who are no longer here to speak; the Aboriginal women …

01/12/2022

'Australia Where' is the coverline for our December 2022 edition, out today! It's Jonathan Green's last as editor, and various essays in this edition address elements of national character and direction. It features new writing from Mark McKenna, Amy McQuire, Guy Rundle, Alexis Wright, Anna-Spargo Ryan, Sara M. Saleh, Bruce Pascoe and more.

Click here to view the entire list of pieces: https://meanjin.com.au/editions/

If you haven't yet taken the plunge, or your subscription has lapsed, now's an excellent time: subscribe in print before December 22 and you'll receive a free one-year digital subscription to give to a friend, valued at $50.

https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

09/11/2022

‘Australia Where’ is the coverline for the December 2022 edition of Meanjin, Jonathan Green’s last as Editor. Various essays in this edition address elements of national character and direction, and we're proud to include fantastic new writing by Mark McKenna, Amy McQuire, Alexis Wright, Guy Rundle, Scott Stephens, Anna Spargo-Ryan, Na'ama Carlin and more.

If you haven't already, subscribe in print and you’ll have your copy delivered to your door! https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

Just want a single print copy? You can pre-order here via Melbourne University Publishing: https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-81-no-4-paperback-softback

10/10/2022

We are delighted to announce that Esther Anatolitis is the next Editor of 'Meanjin'.

You can read the full media release via this link: https://bit.ly/3ROtI90

21/09/2022

‘Silence’ I catch the pattern Of your silence Before you speak I do not need To hear a word. In your silence Every tone I seek Is heard. —Langston Hughes (1941)   Here we tell of two stories, …

20/09/2022

We are thrilled to include an extract of Jim Davidson's upcoming book (out soon via Melbourne University Publishing) in our Spring edition.

You can preorder a copy of Emperors in Lilliput here: https://www.mup.com.au/books/emperors-in-lilliput-hardback

Or subscribe to Meanjin before the end of the month, and you could win one! https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/

This text is an extract from Emperors in Lilliput: Clem Christesen of Meanjin and Stephen Murray-Smith of Overland, published in 2022 by Melbourne University Publishing.   Aboriginality, the A…

15/09/2022

Happy publication day to our Spring 2022 edition!⁠
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Featuring new writing from Kate Holden, Ouyang Yu, Jennifer Mills, Bruce Pascoe, Chelsea Watego, Jane Gilmore, Jordan Prosser, John Kinsella, Osman Faruqui, Lauren Rosewarne and more.⁠

Click here to see the contents: https://meanjin.com.au/editions/

Take out a digital subscription from just $5, or subscribe in print and you'll have a chance to win a copy of Jim Davidson's Emperors in Lilliput (out soon via Melbourne University Publishing) or a Meanjin tote bag! We have 10 of each to give away.

12/09/2022

Our Spring 2022 edition is out on September 15, featuring new writing by Kate Holden, Jane Gilmore, Bruce Pascoe, Ouyang Yu, Jennifer Mills, Chelsea Watego and more!⁠
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Subscribe now https://meanjin.com.au/subscribe/ to get your copy, or pre-order a single edition via the Melbourne University Publishing website https://www.mup.com.au/books/meanjin-vol-81-no-3-paperback-softback

26/07/2022

Are you interested in becoming the next editor of Meanjin? Apply now!

Founded in Brisbane 1940, and long housed at the University of Melbourne, Meanjin is one of Australia’s most well-established and highly regarded journals of literature and ideas. It appears four t…