University steps in to rescue cherished literary journal

Australia’s “most eminent” literary journal has been thrown a lifeline, five months after it was set adrift from the university that had hosted it for most of its 85 years.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has announced itself as the “new custodian” of Meanjin, vowing to “thoughtfully re-establish” the journal in the state of its birth.

QUT vice-chancellor Margaret Sheil said Meanjin had been instrumental in shaping Australian literary and intellectual culture. “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.”

Meanjin was founded in Brisbane in 1940 but moved to the University of Melbourne five years later, and shifted to Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) in 2008.

In September, MUP announced the journal’s closure “on purely financial grounds”, saying the MUP board had deemed it “no longer viable to produce the magazine ongoing”. Meanjin’s two part-time staff were made redundant and the December 2025 issue was to be its final publication, other than a handful of pre-commissioned pieces.

An open letter begging the University of Melbourne to bankroll the journal’s continuation attracted almost 3,000 signatories. “In a shrinking circle of chances for publication and exposure for writers in this country, we can’t afford to lose any outlets for our work, let alone one of the best,” says the letter from novelist and poet Alan Fyfe.

But the university’s council said it accepted the decision to close the journal, which had been made by an independently operating board of its publishing arm.  

The Guardian reported in September that protesters had called for MUP to transfer ownership of Meanjin rather than dissolve it, but the publisher held all intellectual property rights – including to the journal’s name – and was blocking its revival by another entity.

MUP says it received multiple approaches from organisations wanting to be the new owners. “QUT’s understanding of the journal’s legacy surpassed those of the other expressions of interest,” said MUP chair Warren Bebbington. “The board is delighted Meanjin will continue.”

QUT says it will appoint an editorial board to ensure that Meanjin’s “independence, values and standards” are maintained. It has promised to respect the journal’s founding vision “while enhancing its relevance and rebuilding of readership to ensure a viable future”.

Principal policy adviser John Byron said rehoming the journal would take a lot of work and QUT would “take the time to do it properly”.

“We are a long way off releasing the next issue – as yet we have no editor, no production staff, no editorial board – but we will get there,” said Byron, a published author and former executive director of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. “The transfer is already under way and the work now begins in earnest.

“We understand the scale of the privilege we have been afforded and will take good care of Meanjin.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com