Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing Research Projects Roderick Competitive Research Grants

Roderick Competitive Research Grants

Updating the History of the NQ Novel

Dr Elizabeth Smyth and Associate Professor Roger Osborne

This project extends foundational bibliographical and biographical research on the literature of North Queensland by updating records of North Queensland novels published since 2005. Building on Cheryl Taylor’s landmark Writers of Tropical Queensland project and subsequent literary histories of the region, the project addresses gaps and inconsistencies in existing AustLit metadata relating to North Queensland writing. By auditing and enhancing records of novels associated with the region, the project will improve the discoverability of North Queensland literature and support future literary-historical and computational research. It makes an important contribution to preserving and extending knowledge of the region’s distinctive literary culture.

Amplifying First Nations Voices Through Poetic Inquiry and Parallaxic Praxis: Creative Approaches to Knowledge Integration on Country

Associate Professor Michelle Redman-MacLaren and Dr Vicki Saunders with Lorelle Benson

This project develops an online poetic inquiry and parallax praxis research series in collaboration with the Deadly Poets Society, the Roderick Centre, and the Jawun Research Institute at CQU in Cairns. Informed by the inspirational work of Professor Pauline Sameshima, the series will build research capability in culturally grounded, creative methodologies that support First Nations storytelling, relational accountability and ethical knowledge-sharing. The project responds to growing interest in creative and community-controlled approaches to research, particularly among Indigenous and arts-based researchers working in higher education and HDR supervision. Through workshops and collaborative exchange, it will strengthen capacity for poetic inquiry, knowledge integration and research practices grounded in Country, community and cultural responsibility.

Creative Pathways in the Regional North

Associate Professor Lisa Law, Associate Professor Victoria Kuttainen, Dr Tahnee Innes and Jade Croft with LabNorth

Regional Australia is facing an escalating crisis in creative skills development and arts training pathways, with declining enrolments, course closures and workforce pressures affecting the sustainability of creative ecosystems. These challenges are particularly acute in northern Australia, where alternative training pathways are limited and small to medium sized arts organisations are carrying on outsized responsibility to self-source and train technicians, arts administrators and creative practitioners. Extending the work of LabNorth and emerging from it, this project investigates the state of creative pathways in the regional north and the pressures shaping arts education, training and workforce development. By mapping current challenges and opportunities, and exploring potential creative solutions, it will support stronger connections between universities and other training pathways, arts organisations, and regional creative communities.

Writing on the Spectrum

Professor Raelke Grimmer, Associate Professor Hilary Emmett, Dr Amanda Tink, and Associate Professor Victoria Kuttainen

Writing on the Spectrum is an international community of practice of neurodivergent women working across creative writing, literary studies, research and pedagogy. Meeting regularly since mid-2024, the group explores the intersections between neurodivergent ways of thinking, creative practice, literary forms, and teaching. This project addresses a significant gap in the emerging field of literary neurodiversity studies by foregrounding Australian neurodivergent voices and experiences. Through creative-critical research, a publishable literature review, conference presentations and editorial work, the project will contribute Australian perspectives to international conversations about neurodivergent creativity, writing practice and pedagogy, while ensuring neurodivergent researchers lead this work from lived experience.