AustLit: A Comprehensive Resource for Australian Literary History
AustLit serves as a cornerstone for the study of Australian letters, providing an extensive digital archive of the nation's creative and critical output. By documenting the lives of writers and the evolution of publishing, it offers an essential map of the Australian cultural landscape, from early colonial texts to contemporary digital works.
The platform publishes a wide array of content, including biographical entries and brief essays on Australian writers, critics, and storytellers. Its scope extends beyond individual authors to include organisational histories of publishers, theatre companies, and arts organisations, as well as records of cultural festivals and both national and international awards. Additionally, AustLit tracks the history of Australian periodicals and provides detailed records of works of fiction and criticism.
Key Facts
- BlackWords indexes approximately 24,000 works by nearly 7,000 authors and organisations as of 2024.
- Full-text access is available for samples of works dating back to 1795.
- The database includes specialized subsets for Multicultural Writers and South Australian Women Writers.
- Coverage has expanded to include oral histories, burlesque theatre, and film/television scriptwriting.
- It integrates external full-text materials from platforms like Trove and various public libraries.
Specialized Databases and Subsets
BlackWords
BlackWords is a separately published database within AustLit dedicated to all aspects of Indigenous Australian literature. Developed from an existing dataset in 2006 and launched in 2007, it provides a vital record of First Nations storytelling. The database includes thousands of full-text works, such as interviews with Indigenous Australian authors, educational content, and The BlackWords Essays by Professor Anita Heiss.
Multicultural and Regional Collections
To ensure a diverse representation of the Australian experience, AustLit maintains the Australian Multicultural Writers subset, which features thousands of writers from non-Anglo-Celtic backgrounds.
The platform also hosts the South Australian Women Writers dataset. Originally compiled by Anne Chittleborough, Rick Hosking, and Graham Tulloch of Flinders University and published by the State Library of South Australia in 1999, this collection was added to AustLit in 2000. While the original dataset was completed in 2003, Flinders University continues to lead its ongoing development.
Digitization and Expanding Coverage
AustLit actively works to preserve literary heritage through digitisation programs. These initiatives create full-text versions of critical articles and literary works that are otherwise out-of-print or out-of-copyright. Beyond its own archives, AustLit links users to electronically published works and materials hosted by libraries and public digitisation projects.
The platform also publishes new scholarly datasets in digital formats, including AustLit: Literature of Tasmania and Beyond Goggles and Corsets: Australian Steampunk and Settler Colonial Literature.
Evolution of Inclusion Criteria
As the understanding of "literature" has evolved, so has AustLit's coverage. Key expansions include:
- 2007: Inclusion of life story works and oral histories via BlackWords.
- Theatre: The Australian Popular Theatre dataset introduced burlesque theatre works.
- Periodicals: The Colonial Newspapers and Magazines Project expanded to include advertisements and works by international authors.
- Screenwriting: In 2010, coverage was extended to include scriptwriters in the film and television industry and their associated production histories.
The Role of AustLit in Academic Research
Because of its comprehensive record of publishing history, AustLit is a primary tool for researchers analysing Australian literary trends. It allows scholars to develop specific datasets for various fields of study, including the history of magazines, regionally-based publishing surveys, and thematic subsets.
The resource provides critical support for research into diverse genres, ranging from Australian popular and pulp fiction to the complexities of drama, theatre history, and the contributions of multicultural writers.
| Component | Focus Area | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| BlackWords | Indigenous Australian Literature | ~24,000 works by ~7,000 authors |
| Multicultural Writers | Non-Anglo-Celtic backgrounds | Thousands of diverse writer records |
| SA Women Writers | South Australian female authors | Developed by Flinders University |
| Digitisation Program | Out-of-print/copyright works | Samples dating back to 1795 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BlackWords?
BlackWords is a specialized database within AustLit that focuses exclusively on Indigenous Australian literature, indexing thousands of works, interviews, and essays by First Nations authors and organisations.
How far back does the AustLit archive go?
Through its digitisation programs and access to other platforms, AustLit provides full-text access to samples of works published as early as 1795.
Does AustLit cover more than just books?
Yes. It covers periodicals, theatre (including burlesque), film and television scripts, oral histories, and organisational histories of arts companies and festivals.
Who manages the South Australian Women Writers dataset?
While originally published by the State Library of South Australia, Flinders University is primarily responsible for the ongoing development of this dataset.
How do researchers use AustLit?
Researchers use the platform to build datasets for specific studies, such as analyzing pulp fiction, conducting regional publishing surveys, or studying the history of Australian magazines and drama.