The Monthly

The Monthly is an Australian general-interest magazine established in 2005 and published from Melbourne by property developer and publisher Morry Schwartz. It is positioned as a national forum for extended political, social, cultural and literary journalism rather than as a conventional newsweekly. The magazine generally appears eleven times a year, with a combined December–January issue replacing separate issues for those months. Its editorial model is built around substantial essays, reported investigations, political commentary, criticism and cultural writing. Standard essays commonly run between 3,000 and 6,000 words, while major cover features have reached approximately 10,000 words. The publication’s subject range extends from Australian politics and public policy to history, Indigenous affairs, media, technology, literature, film, music, theatre, television, fashion, art and architecture. A front-of-magazine section known as “The Nation Reviewed” presents a compact national round-up, while the arts and letters pages provide independent criticism across multiple cultural disciplines. The magazine has relied on a broad group of Australian and international contributors. Writers associated with its pages have included Mark Aarons, Waleed Aly, John Birmingham, Annabel Crabb, Richard Flanagan, Karen Middleton, Robert Forster, Anna Funder, Helen Garner, Gideon Haigh, Clive James, Paul Kelly, Benjamin Law, Amanda Lohrey, Mungo MacCallum, Robert Manne, David Marr, Margaret Simons, Lindsay Tanner, Malcolm Turnbull and Don Watson, among many others. The contributor list reflects the magazine’s hybrid identity: it combines political journalism, literary nonfiction, criticism and essays by public intellectuals, artists and political figures. Several articles have had influence beyond the magazine’s regular readership. Gideon Haigh’s 2006 essay “Information Idol: How Google is making us stupid” examined the cultural and intellectual consequences of internet search and information technology. Chloe Hooper’s “The Tall Man: Palm Island’s Heart of Darkness” explored the death of Indigenous Australian man Mulrunji and the aftermath on Palm Island; it won the 2006 Walkley Award for Magazine Feature Writing and was later expanded into a book. Haigh’s essay and Hooper’s work jointly received the 2006 John Curtin Prize for Journalism. Richard Flanagan’s “Gunns: Out of Control” brought scrutiny to the proposed Bell Bay pulp mill in Tasmania and prompted businessman Geoffrey Cousins to arrange the distribution of 50,000 reprints in relevant parliamentary electorates as part of an environmental campaign. The Monthly has also published writing directly connected with national political debate, including Alfred W. McCoy’s examination of David Hicks’s detention, Kevin Rudd’s “Faith in Politics” and other essays addressing political institutions, public morality and Australian identity. Its recurring “Encounters” page, written by Shane Maloney and illustrated by Chris Grosz, presented brief accounts of improbable historical meetings between notable figures and was collected in book form in 2011. The publication has gradually adjusted its reader-engagement practices. It stopped publishing letters from readers in early 2017, although the print and online publication continued to invite contributions. In November 2021, it removed article commenting through the Disqus platform; comments on its Facebook page were also subject to increased moderation or disabling. The Monthly remains an active Australian magazine brand whose principal distinction is its emphasis on edited, essay-length journalism and criticism rather than high-frequency news coverage.

The Monthly was founded in 2005 as an Australian national magazine devoted to politics, society and the arts. It was established and published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz, whose involvement gave the publication a privately backed platform for extended editorial work. Rather than competing primarily through daily news speed or large-volume general-interest coverage, the magazine developed an identity around carefully edited essays, investigations, political commentary and cultural criticism. The publication’s standard essays generally occupy several thousand words, while prominent cover stories can be substantially longer. This format allows contributors to develop arguments, historical context and reported detail beyond the limits of ordinary magazine news articles. Its subject matter has included Australian political life, public policy, Indigenous affairs, technology, media, history and national identity, alongside reviews and criticism of books, films, music, theatre, television, fashion, art and architecture. The Monthly’s contributor network has included journalists, authors, academics, politicians, musicians and cultural commentators. Among the writers associated with the magazine are Waleed Aly, John Birmingham, Annabel Crabb, Richard Flanagan, Helen Garner, Gideon Haigh, Clive James, Paul Kelly, David Marr, Robert Manne, Margaret Simons, Lindsay Tanner, Malcolm Turnbull and Don Watson. This mixture of professional journalism and literary or public-intellectual writing has been central to the magazine’s editorial character. A number of its essays achieved recognition or influence outside the publication. In 2006, Gideon Haigh wrote “Information Idol: How Google is making us stupid,” an essay about the effects of Google and the emerging information environment. Chloe Hooper’s “The Tall Man: Palm Island’s Heart of Darkness” investigated the death of Mulrunji and the social and institutional consequences on Palm Island. The two pieces shared the 2006 John Curtin Prize for Journalism, while Hooper’s work also received the Walkley Award for Magazine Feature Writing. The article was subsequently expanded into The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island, published in 2008. The magazine also became a venue for essays with direct political and civic consequences. Alfred W. McCoy’s work on the punishment and detention of David Hicks, Kevin Rudd’s “Faith in Politics” and Richard Flanagan’s “Gunns: Out of Control” each addressed issues that extended beyond ordinary cultural commentary. Flanagan’s investigation of the proposed Bell Bay pulp mill in Tasmania prompted businessman Geoffrey Cousins to distribute 50,000 reprints in the electorates of the federal environment minister and opposition environment spokesperson as part of a campaign against the project. Recurring departments added structure and continuity. “The Nation Reviewed,” placed near the front of the magazine, offered a short national round-up and acknowledged the earlier Australian publication Nation Review, founded by Gordon Barton. “Encounters,” written by Shane Maloney and illustrated by Chris Grosz, presented compact stories about unlikely historical meetings between famous people. The feature was later collected as a book in August 2011. The Monthly’s relationship with its audience changed over time. It stopped publishing reader letters in early 2017, although invitations to submit letters remained visible in the print and online publication. In November 2021, it removed the Disqus commenting function from online articles, while Facebook comments became more tightly moderated or were disabled. The magazine continues to publish eleven issues per year, normally treating December and January as a combined issue, and remains active as an Australian outlet for long-form journalism, essays and arts criticism.

1. 2021Disqus commenting is removed

   Online article comments are removed in November, alongside increased moderation or disabling of Facebook comments.

   Source
2. 2017Reader letters are discontinued

   The magazine stops publishing letters from readers, without a publicly stated explanation.

   Source
3. 2011Encounters collection is published

   The recurring historical-meeting feature by Shane Maloney and Chris Grosz appears as a collected book.

   Source
4. 2008The Tall Man becomes a book

   Chloe Hooper expands her Monthly feature on Palm Island into The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island.

   Source
5. 2006Major journalism awards recognise Monthly essays

   The magazine’s essays by Gideon Haigh and Chloe Hooper share the John Curtin Prize for Journalism; Hooper also receives a Walkley Award for Magazine Feature Writing.

   Source
6. 2005The Monthly is founded

   The Australian national magazine is established, with Morry Schwartz as publisher.

   Source

An Australian national magazine for long-form journalism, political analysis, literary nonfiction and independent cultural criticism.

• The Monthly magazinePrint and digital magazine2005

  The core product is an Australian national magazine published eleven times annually, with a combined December–January issue. It contains long-form essays and investigations on politics, society and public affairs, together with an arts and letters section covering books, film, music, theatre, television, fashion, art and architecture.

• The Nation ReviewedMagazine department

  A front-of-magazine section presenting a concise national round-up through several short articles. The section references the tradition of Nation Review, the Australian weekly newspaper founded by Gordon Barton.

• EncountersHistorical commentary feature

  A one-page feature recounting unlikely but documented meetings between notable historical figures. Written by Shane Maloney and illustrated by Chris Grosz, it was later assembled into a book collection published in 2011.

• 2021Remove online article commentingStrategy

  The publication used the Disqus platform for reader comments on online articles.

  What changed. In November 2021, The Monthly removed Disqus comments and also moderated or disabled comments on its Facebook page.

  Aftermath. The reference material does not state the publication’s reason or provide financial consequences.

  Source
• 2017Discontinue publication of reader lettersStrategy

  The magazine had historically provided a letters section for reader correspondence.

  What changed. The Monthly stopped publishing reader letters, although its print and online versions continued to invite submissions.

  Aftermath. No public explanation for the change is identified in the reference material.

  Source

• 2021Online article comments are removed

  In November 2021, The Monthly removed commenting on its online articles through Disqus. Around the same time, comments on its Facebook page were moderated more heavily or disabled.

  Other
  Source
• 2017The magazine stops publishing reader letters

  The Monthly ceased publishing letters from readers. The publication continued to invite contributions on its print and online platforms, but did not provide a stated explanation for the change.

  Other
  Source
• 2011Encounters is published as a collection

  The recurring Encounters feature by Shane Maloney, illustrated by Chris Grosz, was collected in book form.

  Product launch
  Source
• 2008The Tall Man is expanded into a book

  Chloe Hooper’s Monthly investigation, “The Tall Man: Palm Island’s Heart of Darkness,” was developed into the book The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island.

  Other
  Source
• 2006The Monthly essays receive major journalism recognition

  Gideon Haigh’s technology essay and Chloe Hooper’s investigation of Palm Island shared the John Curtin Prize for Journalism. Hooper’s feature also won the Walkley Award for Magazine Feature Writing.

  Other
  Source
• 2005The Monthly launches as an Australian national magazine

  The Monthly was established as a national Australian magazine focused on politics, society and the arts. It was published by Melbourne property developer Morry Schwartz.

  Other
  Source

1. The Monthly
2. The Monthly official website