Island: No.103: Editorial

This issue of Island and the next contain selections from the 2005 Watermark Literary Muster, held at Camden Haven in October. The week-long event, celebrating the literature of nature and place, featured some twenty-six guest writers from Australia, New Zealand and the US, with excellent audiences attendances, including some who drove for up to two days to be there – not a bad promotion for a talkfest. Watermark is well supported at local, state and federal levels, which, together with the quality and range of panels and discussions, should ensure its future. More than that, Watermark has the capacity to become a literary gathering of international significance.

This issue of Island is also my last as editor and I wish to thank all those who have been so supportive of the magazine during my time here. Island, like many other niche magazines, leads an existence seemingly both charmed and prone to unexpected moments of unease. Yet this one has recently celebrated its twenty-fifth consecutive year and its subscription base is far healthier than it has been at times in the past. Subscribers are of immense importance; the nature of a literary magazine, one aiming consistently for high quality, doesn’t exactly translate into booming retail sales. In fact many subscribers enjoy its regular postal delivery, as this note accompanying a renewal payment, received within the past few days, attests: ‘Thank you, thank you ... love receiving it, devour it with relish, pass on to hubby, then can’t wait for the next one. [J. L.]’ Funding bodies complement these income streams and are, therefore, of critical importance in ensuring the publication and promotion of Australia’s writers and progressive opinion makers. I would also like to pay particular thanks the management committee and to our designer Lynda Warner. Finally, it has been an immense privilege to have been associated with the many individuals published in Island over the past six years. I wish the next editor all the very best. ■

Contents page | Editorial

EDITORIAL

DAVID OWEN