Blackwords - AustLit

13/03/2026

Calling all local authors! Join us for an afternoon on the deck 🤎 Next weekend AusLit Director Maggie Nolan and Dr Anita Heiss will be discussing AUSTLIT and its importance to authors at 2.30pm on Saturday March 21!

AustLit is the go-to resource for authors, creators, literary critics, event organisers and anyone in the writing and publishing industry. No other country in the world has attempted to compile such a comprehensive record of a nation’s critical and creative writing – and now, thanks to a partnership between the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and AustLit, ASA members now have full access to the AustLit database as part of their membership.

Bring along a laptop and we will show participants how to find, check and request updates to their author record. Maggie will also demonstrate some search strategies that authors might find helpful in advancing their writing projects.

RSVP for your free spot via our events page to learn about why AusLit is worth engaging with for Australian authors: https://avidreader.com.au/pages/13817-AustLitforAuthors

24/02/2026

24/02/2026

22/01/2026

Looking for books discussing January 26 in Australia? Then check out the AustLit today! And share widely. Thank you!

The first of our trails went live yesterday. We've selected 25 works that discuss January 26.

January 26 is one of the most contested days in the nation’s calendar. For some, a day of patriotic celebration; for others, particularly First Nations Australians, a day of mourning that commemorates invasion, or an opportunity to recognise Indigenous resistance and resilience. For many, it may just be a day off.

This trail provides links to a range of perspectives from the earliest days of the colony until the present time and includes short stories, poems, picture books, and essays, presented in reverse chronological order.

The chosen works are not presented as the definitive approach to the date, but as a sampling that highlights how diverse the meanings of January 26 can be and how much they have changed over time.

We encourage you to explore further: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/34348614


Blackwords - AustLit

21/01/2026

It's all a big 25 year celebration at AustLit this year! Stay tuned for exciting BlackWords events and the announcement of a new team member!

21/01/2026

UQ-housed literary database AustLit is celebrating 25 years of preserving Australian literature in 2026.

09/11/2025

Not Quite White in the Head is officially launched!

We had the great, glorious pleasure of hosting the inimitable Melissa Lucashenko this evening!

Thank you to Rhianna Patrick for guiding an unforgettable conversation ❤️

Congratulations Melissa on this remarkable book of personal essays!

22/10/2025

If you're looking for more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories after ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books of the Century countdown, Dr Melanie Saward has some suggestions for you over on The Conversation Australia + NZ:

Just three Aboriginal writers appeared in Radio National’s poll. There was little sense of the breadth and creativity of our First Nations writing scene.

13/10/2025

Who's your favourite Australian author? Austlit is a database of Australian writers and creatives. As well as print authors it includes storytellers from theatre, film, TV and radio. In it you can find biographical information about your favourite Australian authors and what other works they have published. It is a great resource for anyone interested in Australian culture and the people who shape it!

Austlit is free to use with State Library membership and also includes resources for teachers. It contains the database, BlackWords which details the lives and works of over 7000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers.

So if you're looking to follow your favourite Aussie author down an information rabbit hole check out Auslit! https://qld.pulse.ly/dh4xqeilbe

07/10/2025

We're looking forward to seeing some BlackWords authors at the Brisbane Writers Festival this weekend, including Allanah Hunt, Mykaela Saunders, John Morrissey with chair Sharlene Allsopp talking about INDIGENOUS FUTURISMS.

If you're keen too, you can book your tix here: https://brisbanepowerhouse.org/events/indigenous-futurisms/

And read the author's AustLit agent pages here:

Allanah Hunt: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/10268507
Mykaela Saunders: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/12974692
John Morrissey: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/10980922
Sharlene Allsopp: https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/18865599

These authors write us back into the past and the future, where we have always been and always will be.

05/09/2025