Professor Alan Lawson holds an MA from the Australian National University and a PhD from the University of Queensland. His areas of expertise include the literatures of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, and the works of authors such as Patrick White, Barbara Baynton and Henry Lawson. He has been a bibliographic editor, and has published widely in the fields of literary theory and criticism, and bibliography. With Laurie Hergenhan, Lawson introduced courses on the Australian short story and novel genres in the 1970s.
Lawson has been a guest lecturer at the University of Calgary, Dean of Postgraduate Students and Director of the Graduate School and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and International) at The University of Queensland.