QUT revives 85-year-old literary journal, Meanjin
Queensland University of Technology is bringing the renowned literary journal Meanjin back home to Brisbane after losing the masthead decades ago.
Last September, Meanjin journal, Australia’s second-oldest literary journal, was officially closed by Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) due to financial difficulties, having been moved from its Brisbane birthplace 80 years ago.
Under the terms of the transfer, QUT will recruit an editor through a national search and appoint an editorial board to ensure the journal’s independence, values and standards are maintained.
QUT vice-chancellor professor Margaret Sheil said QUT was delighted to bring the eminent journal home to Meanjin/Magandjin where the journal was originally founded and where Gardens Point campus now stands.
“Since its foundation by Clem Christesen in Brisbane in 1940, Meanjin has been instrumental in shaping Australian literary and intellectual culture,” Sheil said.
“It has provided a vital platform for critical discussion, a showcase of emerging writers and a valuable training ground for leading Australian publishers and editors. We are honoured to be entrusted with the legacy of this cultural icon.”
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Meanjin will complement the university’s high-quality writing program within the QUT School of Creative Arts.
Meanjin was established in 1940 by Christesen, and then moved to Melbourne in 1945 at the invitation of the University of Melbourne.
Starting out as a journal of poetry, Meanjin grew into a showcase of fiction, essays, memoirs and experimental works from all over Australia.
Past contributors to Meanjin include Australian writers David Malouf, Helen Garner, Frank Moorhouse, Sarah Holland-Batt, J M Coetzee and international authors Jean-Paul Sartre and Kurt Vonnegut.
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Meanjin officially closed last year.
Professor of creative writing, Kári Gislason said QUT has a distinguished alumni of writers who went on to become well-known authors in Australia.
“They will, I’m sure, celebrate this partnership: it affirms how creativity, literature and excellence in writing allow us to think deeply and connect our ideas in imaginative ways to the world around us,” Gislason said.
“Meanjin’s move to QUT tells our students that this is as true now as it ever was.”
Professor Warren Babbington, chair of Melbourne University Publishing, said MUP had been approached by a variety of organisations to acquire the journal, but ultimately QUT’s understanding of Meanjin’s legacy surpassed those of the other expressions of interest received.
“The board is delighted Meanjin will continue, and in the hands of a university so clearly alert to the nature of the custodianship MUP had fulfilled for it for so long,” Babbington said.
Now, QUT will work on respectfully re-establishing and reinvigorating the journal in Queensland while protecting Meanjin’s founding vision while rebuilding its readership.
The timing of this revival aligns with Queensland’s plans to elevate the creative economy, support local talent and showcase the state’s culture to a global audience ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
