The Blue Notebook Vol 21 No 1

Autumn – Winter 2026

Our Autumn – Winter edition is the second of two issues publishing presentations from abbe 2025 – a two-day conference held at Artspace Mackay, Queensland, Australia, bringing into focus the innovative world of artists book practice in the region. Practicing artists, postgraduate students and professionals in the field presented papers examining two distinct themes – ‘Contemporary Artists Book Practice’ and ‘Mapping Australia’s Artists Book Histories: A Group Effort’.

The six papers in this volume of The Blue Notebook combined with the seven published in the previous volume provide a broad view on the nature of contemporary artists’ books and book arts practice and the associated discourse within Australia.

Essays by: Lyn Ashby, Jorge Mariño Brito, Marian Crawford, Annique Goldenberg, Clyde McGill, Monica Oppen & Julie Barratt.

Cheng (Christine) Dong has designed these two special editions. Cover and featured artist pages for this issue by Australian artist Dianne Longley.

Download your free copy and browse all back issues here.

Image: Detail from Aberrant Observance, a folio of works by Dianne Longley.