Thrilled and honoured to receive the Wakefield Press Essay Prize from the History Council of South Australia on Sunday for my essay on the little known Angry Penguins precursor Phoenix. To be published soon in Affirmations: of the Modern - may the Phoenix keep rising anew!

‘Education of any kind never was, and never can be, a curse to its possessor; it is a curse only to the person whose interest lies in exploiting its possessor.’ - Joseph Furphy, Such is Life.

The Janette Turner Hospital revival begins! Come join myself, Victoria Circelli, Russell West-Pavlov Nicholas Birns and Geoff Rodoreda on Friday the 12 June, rego is free: tinyurl.com/AAALS2026REG 8AM US Eastern, 2PM Germany, 9:30PM Adelaide 10PM Eastern Australia, 8PM Perth Registration

Currently knee deep in Harris and Malley - and loving every minute of it!

Hard to think of a more apt way to describe the creeping censorship happening in Australian institutions than the Rot. www.lamestream.com.au/exclusive-un...

Bring back Meanjin Press!

‘We are better redefining education to better suit the tool. That’s not progress, that’s surrender.’ - Jared Horvath, researcher on Edtech speaking in Washington.

Stories of the Tanganekald. A collection of recovered stories in a lost Indigenous language from the Coorong - the magical lagoon ecosystem at the mouth of the Murray River. Storytelling terrain that stretches from Kangaroo Island into the South East. www.mascarareview.com/samuel-cox-r...

Bizarre they had offers of funding or purchase and turned it down.

I reviewed Natalia Harkin’s new book for Mascara on Indigenous domestic service in South Australia - a groundbreaking (and visually beautiful) book that rewrites history. www.mascarareview.com/samuel-cox-r...

Hey it’s me diving into Pullman’s Dust!

Following The Rose Field's release, I wrote on Philip Pullman's much loved series and the development of "Dust" as a metaphysical metaphor shaped by our changing world, across both trilogies. theconversation.com/the-rose-fie...

I had the strange experience of presenting online at a conference in my home town from the other side of the world last week - on a niche literary figure who nurtured the Penguins, literature, drama and the Dionysian in Adelaide: C.R Jury

TWO job ads for literary studies that may be of interest to some folks on here: UWA Level B in English: external.jobs.uwa.edu.au/en/job/51979... NYU-Sydney, ongoing sessional contract teaching Australian literature near USYD (I taught this myself, happy to chat?): apply.interfolio.com/165363

I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Scott, a two-time Miles Franklin Award winner, for @overlandjournal.bsky.social I consider Kim among the best and most important Australian authors and we delved deeply into his body of work, his language project and the aftermath of the referendum.

Hello! If you or anyone you know wants to pursue a PhD in world literature and/or Australian literature, esp. on islands and incarceration do get in touch! My DECRA project supports a scholarship in this area at the University of Sydney. For more info or to apply: www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships...

I reviewed the Cambridge History of the Australian Novel for JASAL (which at 700 pages was no simple task!) - tried to bring a bit of character to it and speak to the current, while still giving a good review of content/method. Can be found here: openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/JASAL/articl...

Had a great time in Hobart last week for @austmodernist.bsky.social Modernism at the edge conference. Listening to @michellecahill.bsky.social was a wonderful way to end the final day! Squeezed in an appropriate trip to MONA before I left too