QUT will become the new custodian of Meanjin, Australia's most eminent literary journal, bringing the publication back to Brisbane 80 years after it relocated to Melbourne.
QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said: “QUT is delighted to bring Meanjin home to Meanjin / Magandjin – the lands of the Turrbal and Yugara peoples – where the journal was founded and where our 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,” she 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.”
Under the terms of the transfer, QUT will appoint an editorial board to ensure Meanjin’s independence, values and standards are maintained and recruit an editor through a national competitive search.
Meanjin will complement the focused, high-quality creative writing program within the QUT School of Creative Arts.
Professor of Creative Writing, Kári Gíslason, said QUT has a distinguished alumni of writers who have gone on to be renowned Australian authors.
“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,” he said.
“Meanjin’s move to QUT tells our students that this is as true now as it ever was.”
Professor Warren Bebbington, the Chair of Melbourne University Publishing (MUP), said MUP had received approaches to acquire Meanjin from a variety of organisations in recent months, but QUT’s understanding of the journal’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,” he said.
QUT will take time to thoughtfully re-establish the journal in Queensland and consider how to most effectively reinvigorate Meanjin, respecting the journal's founding vision and literary legacy while enhancing its relevance and rebuilding of readership to ensure a viable future.
The timing aligns with Queensland’s plans to elevate the creative economy, support local talent, and showcase the state's unique stories and culture to a global audience in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Main photo: QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil
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