Meanjin Summer Launch with Esther Anatolitis

Summer warms us, brings us together, opens our hearts.

Join us for the launch of Meanjin Summer! Esther will be joined by;

• Glenn McPherson, reading his poem ‘Fires’
• Em Meller, reading from her story ‘Like water’
• Daniel Nour, reading from his piece ‘The intolerable lightness of being (racist)’, a review of Ghassan Hage’s The Racial Politics of Australian Multiculturalism
• Tina Huang, reading from her poem 'Homecoming'

Meanjin's writers began 2023 imploring us to get our house in order and prepare for what comes next. At the end of this momentous year, Australia's journal of record offers that perfect art-fiction focus to accompany all your summer adventures.

We begin by listening. This edition's Meanjin Paper ‘Yulendj Boonwurrung’ is by Boonwurrung Elder N’Arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, offering a history of the first people of Melbourne, the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boonwurrung.

Meanjin 82.4 features new fiction by Jumaana Abdu, Greg Foyster, Nicholas Jose, Em Meller, Angela Myer, Paddy O'Reilly, Mykaela Saunders and Daniel Sleiman. Agenda-setting essays by Maudie Palmer AO, Jane Howard, Declan Fry and Heather Taylor Johnson reframe the way we think about and respond to art in Australia, while Thomas Mayo looks into the future after the Voice to Parliament referendum. There's poetry by Ion Corcos, Shastra Deo, Michael Farrell, Susan Fealy, Tina Huang, Glenn McPherson, Mark O’Flynn, Jan Owen, Harry Reid, Ellena Savage, Lucas Smith, and Carl Walsh, in Bronwyn Lea's final edition as Poetry Editor.

Plus David Astle’s put together a thrilling little surprise for us!

There's plenty more to read — and plenty more for us to talk about. The days grow longer, and at night the sky stays light. Embrace Australia's finest writing.

Editor of Meanjin Esther Anatolitis is one of Australia's most influential advocates for arts and culture. With two decades in creative and media leadership, she is a highly respected champion of artists' voices. Esther comes to Meanjin with extensive literary sector experience: she is a former CEO of Express Media and publisher of Voiceworks, an Emerging Writers' Festival founder, a Small Press Network founding partner, and a former Melbourne Writers Festival programming committee member. Working across multiple languages, she has edited a diverse range of print and online publications. Esther has curated talks programs, honoured many a PEN empty chair, and mentored zine makers, independent publishers and literary festival directors. A prolific writer and commentator, Esther is one of the nation's most published arts leaders; her book Place, Practice, Politics was published in 2022, and her work is archived at estheranatolitis.net. Esther is Hon A/Prof at RMIT School of Art, a member of the National Gallery of Australia Governing Council, and a long-time reader, subscriber and contributor to Meanjin. Photo courtesy Sarah Walker Photogr