The Case of the Writer, the Academic and the Magazine

Australia has a lively and robust special-interest magazine market. Special-interest magazines are potentially an area of employment for graduates of creative and professional writing programs, a subject of instruction for writing teachers and an object of study for researchers in the discipline; however, there is little scholarship that sheds light on the generic characteristics, production processes and industry contexts of Australian special-interest magazines. This article draws attention to this gap in scholarship and uses it as an example of a field of study that, while traditionally considered the domain of other disciplines, can be positioned within creative and professional writing to enrich teaching programs in the discipline. In doing so, the article advocates an expansive and flexible view of research, and it continues ongoing discussion in the Australian Association of Writing Programs and TEXT about the discipline's research base.