Cirrus@Austlit

'Island’s long, rich history and the legacy of its previous editors are at my shoulder as I send this, my first issue as Managing Editor, to print. Hundreds of hopeful writers submit to every issue of Island but there is space for only a handful in the magazine. As outgoing Nonfiction Editor Anna-Spargo Ryan says, the ones you read here are the ones that set us alight; the ‘rare and rich treasures ... that can speak of this moment’ (thank you, Judith Abell). This is Australia thinking about how colonialism plays out here and abroad, about past and future bushfires, about safety and bravery, about today’s children and the world they’ll grow up in. All of it is about why words matter, about why literature matters, about how we imagine and change the world through writing and storytelling. Thank you to everyone who offered us your work, and thank you for reading.' (Editorial introduction)

— Jane Rawson, Managing Editor