AustLit

'Thirty years! I don’t think we ever imagined such longevity when we launched the journal. Our concerns were mundane; where to get the money to publish, meeting deadlines, talking to printers, sorting out our differences, deciding content and a host of other issues confronting naïve but keen self-publishers.'  (Introduction)

'Drawing from a programme of applied research engaging with diverse groups of young people in an urban setting in Australia, this paper explores the peace building potential of facilitated storytelling. In this study ‘co-performative refugee storytelling’ involved scaling up narrative practices with the intention of creating city spaces that are more meaningfully inclusive of young people from refugee backgrounds. This model hinges on the theories of urban philosophers who emphasized the role of the imagination, and of cultural activity, in producing public space as a site of resistance. If space is produced relationally, and if cultural activity is an important medium for the production of relational space, then the role of artists and storytellers becomes a critical one in the creation of city spaces that are either welcoming or alienating. This discussion weaves strands of urban and cultural philosophy into a practical model for mobilizing collective storytelling to support a practice where a cosmopolitan imaginary can be publicly rehearsed. Ultimately, the function of this paper is to establish that if, as cultural practitioners, we understand that ‘co-performative refugee storytelling’ has the potential to produce relational spaces, then we may put this imaginary to use in practical ways.' (Publication abstract)

'This article explores the cultural work of the Townsville-based Murri (Indigenous) Book Club. Although a growing body of research relates to book clubs in Britain and the US, little work has been done in the Australian context on what Marilyn Poole has called, ‘one of the largest bodies of community participation in the arts in Australia’ (280). The work that has been done, moreover, suggests that book clubs are an overwhelmingly white phenomenon, through which members ‘maintain their currency as literate citizens through group discussion’. But what of an Indigenous book club and its concerns? This article asserts that the Murri book club challenges traditional book club expectations through its very different relationship to cultures of books and reading. In doing so, the Murri book club has taken a white, middle-class practice and reshaped it for its own purposes: decolonizing the book club as a social, cultural and political institution. By examining the origins of the book club, its approach to books and the lives of some of its members, this article also suggests that the Murri book club challenges expectations about Indigenous professionals and offers insight into the complex ways in which Indigenous professionals negotiate their identities and their relationships with other readers, through communal literary networks.' (Publication abstract)

'This paper argues that the internet is changing development, commissioning and production practices of Australian screen comedy. Due to ease of shareability, online comedy is traditionally of shorter length and cheaper than television to produce and is therefore attracting increased funding opportunities. The online environment offers new opportunities for emerging Australian comedy performers, creators and developers to produce screen comedy that resonates with audiences. A high online viewership may result in a greater share of subsequent funding and future commissioning into longer alternate formats, such as television. The desire for producing online comedy that is more likely to be shared is therefore impacting comedy production practice in Australia. By investigating several successful Australian online comedies, in terms of funding, content and viewership, the essay argues that the online platform allows the audience to influence the types of screen comedy being produced in Australia. The study examines how the Australian made online projects that are the most successful, in terms of funding and views, tend to be those that elicit laughter, shock, surprise and anger as these are the online projects most likely to be shared. This paper draws upon a larger study that relates to Australian narrative television comedy development.' (Publication abstract)