Libraries Tasmania 2026 fellowships announced

Four Tasmanian researchers and creatives have been recognised as part of the 2026 Libraries Tasmania Fellowship Program.

Minister for Education, Jo Palmer, congratulated the fellows, and said their work shines a light on Tasmania’s unique history and identity.

“The Fellowships provide recipients with invaluable opportunities to explore collections and share Tasmania’s diverse stories,” Minister Palmer said.

“They enable researchers and creatives to work directly with the historically significant records and collections of Libraries Tasmania and bring fresh insight to Tasmania’s documented history.

“Our Government is delivering for our State by supporting opportunities that connect Tasmanians with their history and bring new life to our archival collections.”

The 2026 Fellowship recipients and their projects are:

• Research Fellowship ($10,000) - Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison, From Convict Astronomy to Cosmic Frontier: Uncovering Tasmania's Space History Through the Archives.
• Aboriginal Fellowship ($10,000) - Liz Tew, Milaythina Lakapawa: seeing Country through the records of the Colonial surveyors 1803–1840
• Writing Fellowships (with Island Magazine) ($5,000 each) - Robert Jarman, Swagger focuses on the convict actor and comedian Alonzo Johnson (1819–1882); and Sam George-Allen, Lantern Slides – short stories from a forest in parallel.

For more details visit the State Library of Tasmania and Tasmanian Archives Fellowships website.