Cirrus@Austlit

'In her introduction to Southerly 71(1), Elizabeth McMahon notes that "the quality of work we receive is humbling", a testament to "the richness and diversity of Australian writing". Despite the world's dire financial state, Australian literature seems to thrive, albeit sometimes in varied new forms. However, despite Australian politicians' proud boasts that the Australian economy is the "best in the world", any regular reader of the annual bibliographies for Australia would note that the last few years have seen a contraction in the overall quantity of work produced. The endurance of quality, as attested by Elizabeth McMahon, suggests that this may not be wholly lamentable, but it is a concern for a literary culture which has always prided itself on being multi-voiced and diverse. Many publications are now appearing from small but dedicated web-based publishing houses, and the compilers of this bibliography are exerting maximum effort to keep track of works from these sources, for they sometimes fail to be noticed in the mainstream sources upon which we have traditionally depended for our listing.' (Author's introduction)