The ASA is dismayed by the news that literary journal Meanjin will cease publishing this year, with the final issue due to be released in December. The magazine’s publisher, Melbourne University Press (MUP), stated that the decision was based on financial reasons, with the MUP Board having found it no longer viable to produce the magazine.

Meanjin has been an esteemed mainstay of the Australian literary scene since 1940 and over those 85 years it has provided a launch pad for author careers, and space to generate discourse that has shaped Australian literary culture. The magazine has had a roll call of exceptional editors, and showcased the work of some of our best book designers and illustrators. Literary journals such as Meanjin have provided vital opportunities for authors, not only for publication, but also for editorial experience. The closure of Australia’s second-oldest literary journal represents a considerable loss to Australian authors and national literary culture. 

Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald, ASA Chair and former editor of Meanjin, Sophie Cunningham, said: ‘One of the real privileges of editing the magazine – my last edition was the 70th anniversary edition – was seeing the ways in which it captured amazing snapshots of the culture during what was a fascinating 70 years. The 15 years of the journal since I left have continued that tradition.

‘Now I’m just trying to fill in the gaps here like everyone else, but it seems to me that it is unreasonable for the University of Melbourne to put the entire financial load of managing a cultural institution as significant as Meanjin onto Melbourne University Publishing. All publishing houses are having a hard time at the moment. Sales are down, paper prices are up. Literary journals have never been a commercial enterprise, they have been a cultural enterprise and if the university continued to support the journal they would be honouring their cultural investments of the past, and making a cultural investment in the future. To talk about the ‘problem’ of Meanjin as being a commercial one is to disavow the purpose of a university.’

ASA member Esther Anatolitis, whose final edition as Editor of Meanjin will be the December issue, has been unavailable for comment. The University of Melbourne’s statement makes clear that neither she nor her Deputy Editor Eli McLean were consulted about this decision, which is extremely concerning to the ASA.

ASA CEO Lucy Hayward says, ‘I am just one of many who have had their careers shaped by the valuable experience of working for literary journals, having spent time as a volunteer reader for Overland. I cannot overstate the importance of what I learned about the kinds of work being written and published in Australia, the cultural conversations writers are having, publishing standards, editing processes, and more. The discontinuation of such a prominent literary journal as Meanjin will mean fewer opportunities for Australian authors – who already struggle with limited publishing opportunities in Australia’s small market – and a further diminishment of literary discourse about Australian authors and their work.’

Authors whose work was published – in some cases published for the first time – in Meanjin include, in no particular order, Helen Garner, Peter Carey, Judith Beveridge, Don Watson, Laura Jean McKay, Tom Doig, Jeanine Lee, Judith Brett, Alex Miller, Christos Tsiolkas, Claire Coleman, Jessica Au, Michelle De Kretser, Jim Davidson, Ellen van Neerven, Les Murray, Jonathan Green, Georgia Blain, Esther Anatolitis, Fiona McGregor, Mckenize Wark, Michael Farrell, James Bradley, Tony Birch, Meghan Morris, Patrick White, Michael Kirby, Alexis Wright, Hilary McPhee, Beverly Farmer, Anna Krien, Marcus Westbury, Dal Stivens, Elizabeth Jolley, Sally Heath, Jennifer Mills, A. A. Phillips, Tim Winton, Melanie Cheng, Judith Wright, and David Malouf. 

That list could have been a lot longer.