News

Monash University Publishing is saddened to note the passing of Wallace Kirsop. 

Wallace Kirsop taught French at the University of Sydney and Monash University between 1955 and 1998. From 1968 to 2002 he was editor of the Australian Journal of French Studies. Since the 1960s his research and publications had centred on the book world in ancien régime France and nineteenth-century Australia.

In 2024 Monash University Publishing distributed his last major work, From Convict Printers to Book Arcades: A History of the Book in Australia, 1788-1890, of which he was the senior editor.

Although he was in his early 90s, he continued working until just a few months ago, publishing a pamphlet on the history of research collections and recent events at State Library Victoria.

‘Wallace had a deep love for literature and language, and an inspiring zest for publishing,’ said publisher Julia Carlomagno. ‘We will miss his visits to our office, often with a rare book in tow. He has left a great legacy through his research and his publications.’

He is mourned across the world including the UK, Switzerland, France, North America and of course here in Australia and in New Zealand. His contributions to the global scholarly community as a leading researcher, teacher, author, editor, bibliographer and mentor have been enormous. We will miss his friendship, support and humour.

From the Verge 2027 editorial team

Verge is an anthology published by Monash University Publishing. The 2027 edition is now accepting submissions for the theme Ghosts.

What is still here, even after it is gone?

Ghosts can take many forms: a person, a place, a memory, a landscape, an image, an animal, a story, or a version of ourselves we have left behind.

As Emily Dickinson wrote, “One need not be a chamber—to be haunted—”. Her lines, published posthumously, illustrate the captivating power of ghosts. The word ghost, like the idea of ghosts themselves, is not static. Over time its meaning has shifted, from noun to verb, as a phantom shifts between two worlds.

We are interested in what haunts us, but also in what we leave behind. What does a place remember? What happens when memories are changed, lost, or made artificial? What traces of ourselves remain online? How are new technologies creating new kinds of presence, absence, and memory? What disappears without our noticing?

Do you have a ghost story knocking around inside you? In our new world order of artificial intelligence, have you been contemplating the ghost in the machine? Do you write in order to sit with what remains?
The latest issue of Verge invites creative writing that engages with “Ghosts” in the broadest sense: literal hauntings, or ghosts of memory, inheritance, or place/land, as well as the traces of emotional unfinished business. We’re looking for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that explores what lingers, the traces people and places leave behind.

Guidelines

We welcome submissions from all writers in Australia. We’re looking for previously unpublished short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, experimental or hybrid works,

Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction
No more than 2500 words length.

Poetry
Up to 35 Lines

You may submit up to three works in one document. Simultaneous submissions will be considered but please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

AI submissions are not welcome. You will be asked to sign a “No Gen AI” declaration.

Submitting

Submissions close December 13th,11:59 pm AEDT.

You can send us submission via our submissions form: https://forms.gle/9dTkiQqnSg8XvDmS9

Please attach your submission in a google doc or .docx format.
Please also ensure you have filled out all fields (your email, name, contact details, and a brief author bio of no more than 50 words) before hitting submit.

If you are a student at Monash University, please also indicate whether you are undergraduate or postgraduate.

Successful submissions will be published in print and online (epub), and the work will be published on an open access basis online two years after first publication.
Further information will be provided to those with successful submissions.

 

Image credit

Erik Müller, Unsplash

Give a gift with depth this Father’s Day. Discover curated Australian non-fiction, compelling memoirs, and groundbreaking ideas from Monash University Publishing.

Free Standard Shipping Australia-wide on orders over $30, use code FATHERSDAY2026 at checkout.

1. The Audiophile

For the dad whose record collection is his sanctuary, fascinated by the sounds, subcultures, and pop-culture moments that defined decades.

• Vinyl Dreams: How the 1970s Changed Music Forever by Tony Wellington. The ultimate deep dive into the decade of glam, punk, disco, and high-fidelity sound.
• Mixtapes and MTV: The Sound and Vision of the 1980s by Tony Wellington. A nostalgic journey through synth-pop, cassette culture, and the rise of the music video.
• Freak Out: How the 1960s Created Pop Culture by Tony Wellington. The origin story of modern music and the counterculture revolution.

2. The Historian

For the reader drawn to gripping legal battles, sporting sagas, frontier conflicts, and extraordinary true stories of human endurance.

• Justice in Kelly Country by Lachlan Strahan. The real story behind the Ned Kelly legend, told through the eyes of a frontier policeman.
• Against the Odds by William P. Gurry. A high-stakes account of grit, teamwork, and historical sporting triumphs.
• Asbestos Nation by James Watson. An investigative look into Australia’s industrial history and corporate accountability.
• A Naga Odyssey by Visier Meyasetsu Sanyü & Richard Broome. A deeply moving memoir of exile, identity, and the search for reconciliation.

3. The Strategist

For the dad captivated by statecraft, geopolitical shifts, political history, and big-picture global policy.

• The Curious Diplomat by Lachlan Strahan. A candid memoir inside foreign service, high-stakes diplomacy, and global affairs.
• Power, Prosperity & Planet by Thom Woodroofe. Essential reading on green geopolitics, climate policy, and future economies.
• A Long March by Kim Carr. The journey of a Labor factional heavyweight, from the rank and file to the cabinet room.

4. The Naturalist

For the bushwalker, ecology enthusiast, and reader inspired by the beauty and resilience of native Australian landscapes.

• What the Trees See by Dave Witty. Uncovering Australian history through the living witness of ancient native trees.
• On this Ground edited by Dave Witty. A collection of evocative Australian nature writing on country, place, and wild spaces.
• Brave New Wild by Richard King. A timely critique of technology and our urgent need to reconnect with nature.

5. The Thinker

For the leader, decision-maker, and curious mind seeking evidence-based insights into human behavior and organizational change.

• The Uncertainty Effect by Michelle Lazarus. How embracing ambiguity and the unknown unlocks adaptability and growth.
• Inspiring Change by Liam Smith et al. Practical behavioral science strategies to create real-world social impact.

 

With great sadness, we share that Elizabeth Morrison, author of the acclaimed biography David Syme: Man of The Age, has died.

Elizabeth was a historian of nineteenth-century Australian print culture. As a lecturer in librarianship and a research fellow in Australian studies, she researched and wrote extensively about the cultural role of the nineteenth-century Australian press, particularly as a publisher of new fiction through newspaper serialisation. In addition to authoring several books, she located original novels by Ada Cambridge, which were serialised in The Age in 1888 and 1889, and edited them for re-publication in the Colonial Texts series (A Woman’s Friendship, 1988 and A Black Sheep, 2004).

Elizabeth was a warm, exceptionally clever and much-loved individual. Her biography of the Scottish-Australian newspaper proprietor David Syme filled a significant gap in the history of Victorian newspapers – we are honoured to have published it, and glad to have worked with her. We extend our condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.

Fed Up is an Australian chef’s odyssey into women in food and farming, where ethical, sustainable produce and care for Country dominate.

Disillusioned chef Lucy Ridge is sick of the barked orders, the long hours, the inappropriate comments in the male-dominated restaurant world. It’s ruining her love for cookery. So she decides to go searching for a more meaningful relationship with food.

Taking inspiration from her first female mentor, she seeks out women across the country to teach her how to grow, make, harvest and live a different kind of life, with ethical food production at the centre.

To celebrate the release of Lucy’s memoir, we’ve asked her a couple of curly questions.

How many kilometres did you travel for the book?

I’m guessing it was at least 20,000 kilometres by a mix of airplane, ferry and my (not so) trusty Subaru Forester!

Did you taste anything you’ve never had before?

Oh I tasted plenty of new things! Fresh curd and quark cheese at Second Mouse, barbecued pigs’ heart at Jonai Farms, 

Could you see yourself living in any of the places you travelled?

Well I absolutely confirmed that I am a cold climate baby: Broome and Darwin were far too hot for me! But I loved living outside of the city, and especially on land. I can definitely see myself leaving my cozy inner city flat for something a bit more regional eventually. 

What surprised you most about your travels?

When I started out on this journey I thought I would find a single job or craft I was passionate about and wanted to pursue, but what surprised me was that I became more interested in the politics of food, food sovereignty, and how the system fits together as a whole. It’s really changed my single goal to something much more broad, which I love! I learnt that you can’t silo yourself off and think ‘I’m just a chef’ or ‘I’m just a farmer’ and ignore the wider context of food. 

It was like I was focussing on a single piece of the jigsaw without realising it was part of a much larger picture.

What’s your favourite food?

This is a phenomenally difficult question to answer: it’s kind of like asking ‘who is your favourite child’ to someone with heaps of kids! Instead I will reframe the question to something like ‘what food are you enjoying at the moment’ which narrows things down a bit. Late summer is a brilliant season in this region for fresh fruit and veg and there’s a real abundance of produce right now.

I’ve been enjoying heirloom tomatoes (most recently baked into a wickedly good danish from local Under Bakery) and zucchinis. I never bother growing zucchini as other people always end up with a glut so I receive lots from friends and family. I love to slice it, fry it with plenty of good olive oil, garlic, a little chilli, lemon, anchovies and pine nuts. Cook up some good pasta in properly salted water, add it to the veg and mix through some basil leaves. I basically live off some variation of this meal during summer. 

What’s your favourite drink?

Again – a very tough choice! But I’ve recently been enjoying some lovely local Canberra Chardonnay, and also getting into some creative non-alcoholic options too. 

Where are your 5 favourite places to eat?

I’ve got to shout out brilliant local ramen joint Canteen in Fyshwick, Canberra. Their veggie rice bowl saw me through many moments of writer’s block! 

Bar Rochford is always a good time. Great bevs, ever changing menu and a vinyl soundtrack. Good for a post work feed or a late night drink.

Dickson Asian Noodle House is something of an institution in Canberra. I love their laksa and eat it when I’m sad, when I’m celebrating, when I’m sick, when I’m in need of comfort: anytime really. 

My good friend Ruth Gaha Morris runs a beautiful restaurant called Scrumpers Kitchen out at Bungendore around half an hour out of Canberra. She cooks with lots of great local produce and dining there is always a joy. It’s simple food that lets the ingredients shine and she’s got such a creative way of using fruit and veg in ways you wouldn’t expect, but they always work. 

And honestly, my house! Especially when I’ve got friends around to help with the cooking (and, most importantly, the washing up!) Writing this book really reignited my love for cooking at home, and I am constantly inspired by the contents of my weekly produce box from local food and farming co-op Southern Harvest. It’s so fresh and beautifully grown: I want to honour the hard work of the farmers by making something delicious.

Fed Up is out now. Grab yourself a bunch of grapes and start reading!

With great sadness we share that Graeme Turner AO FAHA FQA, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland has died. Graeme published thirty books and his work has been translated into eleven languages.

He was president of the Academy of the Humanities, a former Federation Fellow, and the only humanities scholar to have served two successive terms as a member of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. Graeme had extensive engagement with higher education policy, research assessment and commentary on the sector, including prominent roles with the Australian Research Council, the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, and the Learned Academies.

He co-authored the landmark 2014 study of the state of the humanities, creative arts and social sciences disciplines in Australia, Mapping HASS. 

Graeme’s AO was awarded in 2019 in recognition of his pioneering work in cultural studies and his contribution to higher education.

Greg Bain, Curator of the In the National Interest series, describes Graeme’s passing as ‘a huge loss but a giant legacy to humanities scholarship – he was a valued and supportive colleague to so many. He was a warm and genuine soul. A passionate and superb communicator, especially through his books – and a privilege to publish.
He will be sorely missed.’

Graeme’s recent book Broken: Universities, Politics and the Public Good – in the In the National Interest series – was a bestseller. His energy in bringing the discussion to a wider readership was unflagging – he was an energetic, thoughtful, generous and gracious author and colleague.

Monash University Publishing sends condolences to Graeme’s family, friends and colleagues.

(*with thanks to the Australian Academy of the Humanities for this information)

As the holiday season fast approaches, there’s no better way to celebrate than by gifting – either to yourself or your loved ones – captivating reads. Consider a range from our Top Ten books this year. If you buy two or more titles from this selection, we’ll give you 25% off as a little sweet treat for your stocking, plus we’ll throw in free shipping within Australia. Just use this code: 2025TOPTEN. (Minimum spend $45.00)

Delve into a hidden part of Australian history with Diana Thorp’s Code of Silence, discover the art of diplomacy with The Curious Diplomat by Lachlan Strahan, or become an expert on ’80s music with Tony Wellington’s Mixtapes and MTV. Be amazed at the uphill battles and prejudice Sarah Arachchi faced in Brown. Female. Doctor., reflect on the past 50 years with Dennis Altman’s Righting My World, or take a closer look at art crime with Unseen by Penelope Jackson. Peer into the lives of some of Australia’s best contemporary artists with Quentin Sprague’s What Artists See, marvel at the story of the post-war artist community on the Greek island of Hydra in Half the Perfect World, confront the possibility of technoscience conquering both nature and humanity with Richard King’s Brave New Wild, or learn how to build trust in a world of misinformation with Age of Doubt.

Order by Friday 12 December to make sure they arrive in time, and we’ll even wrap them up for you.

At the checkout page, please let us know in the ‘order notes’ section if you’d like all your books wrapped together, individually, or in specific bundles.

Don’t forget to add the discount code to the cart at checkout.