''The Bookfellow'' was a monthly English-language journal published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The publication's focus was Australian literature and editions were often accompanied by illustrations.

History

''The Bookfellow'' was published in Sydney, by William Macleod from January 1899 to May 1899. Journalist

A. G. Stephens Alfred George Stephens (28 August 1865 – 15 April 1933), commonly referred to as A. G. Stephens, was an Australian writer and literary critic, notably for ''The Bulletin (Australian periodical), The Bulletin''. He was appointed to that positi ...

, one of Australia’s most influential critics, had made several attempts at producing a literary magazine for Australians. In 1894, he was recruited by

J. F. Archibald Jules François Archibald (born John Feltham Archibald, 14 January 1856 – 10 September 1919) was an Australian journalist and publisher, best known for co-founding and editing '' The Bulletin'', Australia's most popular magazine in the late 19 ...

for the weekly ''Bulletin''. He claimed the inside cover of the magazine for reviewing books and relaying literary gossip to interested readers. This section of the ''Bulletin'' came to be known as the ‘Red Page.’ Stephens assisted many emerging Australian writers by featuring their work on the ‘Red Page.’ In 1898, he convinced the owners of ''The Bulletin'' to sponsor a small magazine to increase the scope of the ‘Red Page.’ In January 1899, the first issue of ''The Bookfellow'' was published. The magazine actively promoted Australian writing and set out to educate Australian readers about developments in literature occurring overseas. The first issue, was subtitled ‘A monthly Magazine for Book Buyers and Book-Readers.’ Those who wrote for the publication included Barcroft Boake,

Christopher Brennan Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic. Biography Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...

Mary Hannay Foott Mary Hannay Foott (pen name, La Quenouille; 26 September 1846 – 12 October 1918), was a Scottish-born Australian poet and editor. She is well remembered for a bush-ballad poem," Where the Pelican Builds". Early life Mary Hannay Foott was born ...

, A. G. Stephens and A. J. Fischer. The magazine ceased after 5 issues, in May 1899. Stephens returned to the ‘Red Page,’ but following a souring of his relationship with new ''Bulletin'' editor, James Edmonds, Stephens left ''The Bulletin'' in November 1906 to open a small bookshop that he called "The Bookfellow." He resurrected ''The Bookfellow'' as a weekly magazine in January 1907; however, neither the bookshop, nor the magazine would see the year out. ''The Bookfellow'' was revived again in the 1920s and ceased finally in 1925, but continued to operate as a publisher of books into the 1930s.

Digitisation

The journal has been digitised in

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text documen ...

by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

References

External links

''The Bookfellow''
a
Trove
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bookfellow, The Literary magazines published in Australia Defunct magazines published in Australia Magazines published in Sydney Monthly magazines published in Australia Magazines disestablished in 1899 Magazines established in 1899