Rethinking realism: Dymphna Cusack and Kylie Tennant | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Rethinking realism: Dymphna Cusack and Kylie Tennant

Dr Meg Brayshaw presents her recent Fellowship research into the work of two prominent Australian women writers, Dymphna Cusack and Kylie Tennant.

Dr Meg Brayshaw will explore why realism has been popular in Australian literature and discuss how the writing of Cusack and Tennant was shaped by their experiences in radio, children’s fiction and journalism. 

This research explores realism’s place in how Australian literature is thought about and discussed today. 

Dr Meg Brayshaw is a 2025 National Library of Australia Fellow supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust for Research in Australian Literature.   

Learn more about National Library Fellowships

A smiling woman with short blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses, wearing a black and white checkered top. She has a nose ring and is outdoors with a blurred background of flowering trees.

Dr Meg Brayshaw

Dr Meg Brayshaw

Attend in person

Entry to this event is free but bookings are essential.

Watch online

The presentation will also be available online. Please make a booking and we will send you a direct link to the livestream event via email. Or you can join anytime through the Library's YouTube channel.

About Dr Meg Brayshaw

Dr Meg Brayshaw is the John Rowe Lecturer in Australian Literature at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on the 20th century Australian novel, genre, and literary engagements with place, environment and climate.   

Dr Brayshaw has published in Australian and international journals. She has edited collections on a range of topics, including women’s writing, the Australian urban novel, maritime modernism and literary engagements with the Anthropocene. 

Event details
03 Dec 2026
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Free
Online, Theatre
Accessibility
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon Wheelchair accessible

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