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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
In the first issue of Heat, the magazine's editor, Ivor Indyk, complained about the current state of literary quarterlies, arguing that the academy 'has drawn off [the quarterly's] vitality and restricted its function imposing its own priorities, and its own professional modes of discourse on the form.' Aware of market forces, Indyk hoped that Heat would fill the gap he saw between academic and mainstream writing, providing a place for writers to publish their works without such external influences.
Attempting to avoid the appearance of other quarterlies and assert its divergence from the traditional Australian quarterly, Indyk designed Heat to look more like a book. In 1998, when he announced that Heat would be issued three times a year, he suggested that the subsequent increase in page size would provide the 'feel, and the authority, of a book'. Despite hopes that the form would attract sufficient readers to make the magazine a viable economic proposition, circulation did not rise beyond 1200 copies. Plans to market the magazine internationally with the assistance of the Harvill Press fell through and the magazine's closure was announced in the fourteenth issue.
Contributors to Heat were drawn from within Australia and overseas in attempt to give the magazine an international orientation. Writers from countries such as France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Nicaragua and the United States have appeared in Heat as well as many of Australia's best writers. The most frequent Australian contributors have included Nicholas Jose, Peter Skrzynecki, Peter Boyle, Robert Adamson, Dorothy Porter, David Malouf, Jennifer Maiden, Antigone Kefala, and Geoff Page. Other Australian contributors included John Kinsella, Brian Castro, Alan Wearne, Les Murray, Peter Porter, John Forbes, Dorothy Hewett, and Eric Beach.
In 2001, a new series of Heat was begun after Indyk took up a position at the University of Newcastle and support was received from the Sydney Grammar School and government grants. Produced bi-annually, this new series continues the approach of the first, attempting to bring overseas writers to the attention of Australian readers and to provide a medium for Australian readers to achieve greater international exposure.
Issue 24 2010 was the last issue of Heat in print form. 'After fourteen years of continuous publication the sheer physical intractability of the magazine, and its limited circulation, weigh heavily upon its publisher, especially at a time when the electronic medium beckons, with its heavenly promise of weightlessness and omnipresence.' Ivor Indyk.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Fine Art of Survival
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 March 2013; (p. 6) -
Australian Literary Journals : Virtual and Social
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cordite Poetry Review , December vol. 36 no. 2011; 'Twenty years ago, if you published a quarterly literary journal, you could be certain what that meant: four issues a year. In 2003, when Anna Hedigan wrote her overview of journals and their web presence not much had changed. The publishers' attitude to the online space was that it was essentially a placeholder for the print journal.
Genevieve Tucker's review four years later suggested many of the journals were becoming more sophisticated, with more content online and greater interest in design. Relevant to the 2007 review, RMIT publishing announced in September that it had partnered to "produce a comprehensive digital archive of Australia's most iconic literary and cultural journals". This initiative will provide full archives for a number of Australian literary journals.' (Author's introduction)
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Readers' Feast
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 203 2011; (p. 87-92) -
Incandescent Indyk Turns Down the Heat
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 5-6 March 2011; (p. 9) -
A Literary Flame Flickers and Dies
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 29 January 2011; (p. 25) A column canvassing current literary news including a note that Heat magazine has published its final print edition. Jason Steger also comments on the establishment of the Faber Academy in Australia and on the application of GST to online book sales.
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Burning Bright
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 14 June 2003; (p. 41, 43-44) -
Bookmarks : More Than Just Standing the Heat
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 15 November 2003; (p. 6) -
Black Inc Getting Heat Over Anthologies
2004
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 6 November 2004; (p. 6) -
Bookshow 2004 Report : Whither the Australian Literary Magazine?
2004-2005
single work
column
— Appears in: Newswrite : The NSW Writers' Centre Magazine , December - January no. 143 2004-2005; (p. 11) Mark Rossiter reports on the session 'Literary Magazines: the traditional entry point to writing' which was part of the 6th Australian Publishers & Authors Bookshow at the NSW Writers' Centre. -
Who's Sitting in Gough's Chair?
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5-6 February 2005; (p. 10) A column canvassing current literary news including a brief report on the relocation of Heat from the University of Newcastle to the University of Western Sydney.
PeriodicalNewspaper Details
Has serialised
- The Western Horizon, single work novella