News and Highlights
Ten University of Newcastle disciplines ranked in top 200 in the world
It is excellent to see three Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines recognised in the ten UoN disciplines ranked in the latest QS World University Rankings of the world's top 200: Linguistics, English Language and Literature, and Sociology. This is a very important achievement for our School, especially in the NeW Directions environment, and testimony to the growing academic standing of our disciplines.
Click here for full University of Newcastle results
Visiting Fellowship
Lecturer in English Dr Patricia Pender has been awarded a short-term Visiting Fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2013-2014. She will be the Reese Fellow in American Bibliography and the History of the Book and will research editions of Anne Bradstreet, whose 1650 The Tenth Muse Recently Sprung Up in America was the first volume of poetry to be published in the United States.
Congratulations Dr Michael Sala!
Dr Michael Sala, a graduate of and teacher in our creative writing program, is the Regional (Pacific) Winner of the prestigious Commonwealth Book Prize for his debut novel The Last Thread (Affirm Press, 2012). Michael will now represent Australia and the Pacific region in vying for the main Commonwealth Book Prize, which will be awarded for the best first book of 2012, to be announced on 31 May at the Hay Festival in Wales.This is a superb achievement for a first-time author.
NSW Premier's Literary Awards - RHD Students Shortlisted
Two of our PhD students have been shortlisted in this year's NSW Premier's Literary Awards in the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing. They are Michael Sala, with his debut novel "The Last Thread", published by Affirm Press, and Ryan O'Neill, with his debut collection of short stories "The Weight of a Human Heart", published by Black Inc.
The prize is worth $5000, and is given for a published book of fiction by an author who has not previously published a booklength work of fiction. It is unique for two writing students from the same university to be named together in the same year in a shortlist of six. Michael and Ryan's achievements boost the growing list of published writers that the University Writing Program has produced over the years, which includes Patrick Cullen, Karen Hitchcock and David Kelly, an outstanding record among the writing programs in the country.
Congratulations Associate Professor Jo May!
Congratulations to Jo May on her appointment as Associate Professor (Teaching and Learning) in English Language and Foundation Studies (ELFS). Jo will step down from her current role as Deputy Head of School Teaching and Learning on 1 March.
This is a wonderful, thoroughly deserved appointment, but a loss for the School and its executive. ELFS has certainly recruited a thoroughly professional and enthusiastic colleague.