y separately published work icon Westerly periodical   peer reviewed assertion
Date: 2015-
Date: 1999-2015
Date: 1995-1998
Date: 1993-1994
Date: 1970-1992
Date: 1966-1969
Date: 1964-1965
Date: 1963
Date: 1962
Date: 1961
Date: 1960
Date: 1959
Date: 1958
Date: 1956-1957
Issue Details: First known date: 1956... 1956 Westerly
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Westerly began as a student-edited magazine of the Arts Union of the University of Western Australia in December 1956. Published three times a year, the magazine had an annual editorial turnover until 1962 when J. M. S. O'Brien began a term which lasted until 1965. From the beginning, Westerly struggled to find a balance between serving the West Australian region and maintaining an intellectual connection with the eastern states and the rest of the world. Attempting to encourage writing in the region, Westerly sought poetry and fiction from emerging writers, but it was not until the early 1960s that contributions of a consistently high quality were received.

When J. M. S. O'Brien finished his term as editor, Westerly was produced by a group of editorial associates, rather than a clearly defined editor, until 1975. Bruce Bennett, Peter Cowan and John Barnes, members of the English Department, acted as primary editors during this time until Bennett and Cowan were appointed joint editors in 1975. Delys Bird and Dennis Haskell, also members of the English Department, began their term as co-editors in 1993. Published by the Centre for Studies in Australian Literature since 1982, Westerly maintains a strong connection with the English Department at the University of Western Australia.

During the 1960s Westerly concentrated on original work, publishing the first works of a number of significant writers, including Frank Moorhouse, Murray Bail and Michael Wilding (qq.v.). The number of poems also increased during this time. Westerly attracted contributions from Bruce Dawe, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Gwen Harwood, Dorothy Hewett, Fay Zwicky, Hal Colebatch and William Grono (qq.v.). Westerly continued to attract quality fiction and poetry in the 1970s, publishing the work of a number of writers, including Vicki Viidikas, T. A. G. Hungerford, James McQueen, Peter Murphy, Peter Goldsworthy, Wendy Jenkins, Jean Kent, Richard Carey and John Bryson (qq.v.).

Reviews and criticism were not plentiful during the 1960s, partly because Perth's The Critic already performed that function for the local community. This changed slowly during the 1970s following the establishment of a BA course in Australian literature at the University of Western Australia in 1973. By the late 1970s, the number of reviews and articles had steadily increased to cater for students of Australian literature, but the editors tried to avoid an overly academic tone to maintain a broad readership.

Westerly occasionally produced special issues during the 1960s and 1970s. This became more regular in the late 1980s and 1990s when the fourth issue of the year concentrated on a particular theme. One of the more significant has been Westerly's special issues on South East Asia. Earlier issues display an interest in countries common to the Indian Ocean, but this gradually expanded to include the wider Asian region. The extent of this concentration is exhibited in the book of extracts Westerly Looks to Asia: A Selection from Westerly 1956-1992 (1993). Other special issues have examined Australian Jewish writing, the relationship between Australia and the Mediterranean, environmental issues and justice.

Like most literary magazines, Westerly has struggled to attract funding. Early volumes included a significant amount of advertising. The financial burden was eased when the first ongoing grant from the Australian government was received in 1963. Westerly has since received assistance from the university and state and national bodies, but this funding steadily decreased during the 1990s. As a result, the magazine changed format in 1996. Four years later, as a result of continuing financial pressure, Westerly affiliated itself with John Kinsella's literary magazine Salt. An editorial note stated that this resulted in 'wider distribution, and a broader and more international profile, putting it in a unique position among Australian literary magazines.' With this affiliation, Westerly has appeared annually since 2000, sharing the year (and subscribers) with Salt, which appears during the first half of each year. Westerly continues to cover West Australian, Australian and Asian literature while Salt offers subscribers an annual of European and American literature.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

A Note on the Writers' Development Program Miah De Francesch , Catherine Noske , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , vol. 62 no. 1 2017; (p. 54-55)

'Westerly's inaugural Writers' Development Program was designed to guide and support emerging writers, and to aid them in developing work for publication . In partnership with Margaret River Press, and with the support of the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund, the Program selected five emerging writers from applications and paired them with a relevant professional author as mentor.' (Introduction)

The Little Magazine in the Digital Age : 2006-2014 Tony Hughes-d'Aeth , 2014 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 59 no. 2 2014; (p. 197-206)
From the Nineties to the Noughties : 1996-2005 Paul Genoni , 2014 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 59 no. 2 2014; (p. 188-196)
The Golden Years : 1986-1995 Delys Bird , 2014 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 59 no. 2 2014; (p. 178-187) Editor's Desk - 2015 2015;
The Phoenix Rises Repeatedly : Westerly 1976-1985 Dennis Haskell , 2014 single work essay
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 59 no. 2 2014; (p. 169-177) Editor's Desk - 2017 2017;
Other Voices, Other Cities : Perth, A Literary Frontier Rod Moran , 1989 single work column
— Appears in: Fremantle Arts Review , July vol. 4 no. 7 1989; (p. 12-13)
The Arts Council and Artlook John Harper-Nelson , 1976 single work column
— Appears in: Artlook , July vol. 2 no. 6 1976; (p. 5-6)
Funding May Close Book on Literary Tradition Daniel Hatch , 2007 single work column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 10 December 2007; (p. 3)
Discusses implications of the Western Australian Government's decision to reject the 2007 funding application from the Perth-based literary magazine, Westerly.
Editorial Delys Bird , Dennis Haskell , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 53 no. 2008; (p. 7)
Announces that Westerly is pushing ahead with plans for two issues a year from 2009 with support from the Western Australian Government's Department of Culture and the Arts and the R.I.C. Group, an educational publisher.
ERA and the Ranking of Australian Humanities Journals Paul Genoni , Gaby Haddow , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Humanities Review , May no. 46 2009;
'In Australian Humanities Review 45 Guy Redden draws upon his experience with the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in the UK to warn Australian researchers of various dangers posed by the implementation of similar methods of evaluation that may be introduced under the banner of Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA). Redden is concerned with the tendency of emerging forms of research evaluation to privilege a small number of 'high ranking' journals, and of the distorting effect this has on research communication as authors obsessively target these journals. This in turn results in research funding being concentrated on a small number of institutions and research units that are (predictably) assessed as high-achievers.'

PeriodicalNewspaper Details

ISSN: 0043-342X
Frequency:
Three issues per annum (1956-1962); Quarterly (1963-1999); Annual (2000- )
Range:
1956-
Continues:
Size:
24cm, 50-100 pages (1956-1995); 20cm, app. 140 pages (1996-1999); 20cm, app. 200 pages (2000- )
Price:
2 shillings (1958-1961); 6 shillings (1962-1964); 60 cents (1965-1970); $1 (1971-1976); $2 (1977-1980); $3 (1981-1984); $5 (1985-1988); $6 (1989); $5 (1990-1995); $8 (1996-1999) $20 (2000- )
Note:
From Volume 45, November 2000, published annually in affiliation with Salt
Note:
First fifty years available online (1956-2006).

Awards

2020 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Organisations $35,212
2020 recipient Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Literature Arts Projects for Organisations     $20,510 
Last amended 13 Apr 2023 07:41:53
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