Dear Professor Johnston,

We, the undersigned writers and literary workers, are saddened and distressed by the closure of one of Australia’s longest standing literary journals, Meanjin. Many things could be said about the continuing quality and esteem the journal is held in, but one simple truth remains: in a shrinking circle of chances for publication and exposure for writers in this country, we can’t afford to lose any outlets for our work, let alone one of the best.

We understand the financial pressures of modern academies, and that thrift must be found somewhere. With this in mind, we approach you with a simple proposal: a small voluntary pay cut of 10% of your current salary would save the university $150,000, an ample amount to keep a literature journal running and publishing. This would still leave you with the handsome payrate of $1,350,000 per annum; and with all accommodation and other expense perks intact. We understand that the job of Vice Chancellor of a leading university entails some hard work that deserves fair compensation. A 10% salary cut, however, would leave you still over $341,000 (converted to AUD) better off annually than the Vice Chancellor of The University of Cambridge. Something we’re sure you will strongly consider when you make your decision, which we are confident will be the right one.

Yours in good faith,

The undersigned.

Alan Fyfe, novelist and poet.