The two of us: Catherine McKinnon & Sarah Turnbull

Sarah Turnbull is a freelance writer and published author. Formerly a television journalist with SBS, she began working in print media after moving to France from Sydney. Since then she has written regularly for magazines ranging from The Australian Magazine to Australian Gourmet Traveller, and is currently completing a PhD under the supervision of Dr Catherine McKinnon. Also a successful author, Catherine McKinnon’s novel Storyland (Harper Collins, 2017) was shortlisted for the 2018 Miles Franklin Award, shortlisted for the 2018 Barbara Jefferis Award, the 2018 Voss Literary Prize and was named one of ABC TV’s The Book Club’s Five of the Best in 2017

Meet the supervisor: Dr Catherine McKinnon

Can you explain your area of expertise?

I’m a novelist, playwright and academic. Both my creative and critical research investigates narrative voices, particularly unreliable and first person narration. Whether it’s creative or critical, I often find that my work circles back to two fundamental questions: What do the stories we tell reveal about ourselves and our culture? (Not only by what is said but also by what is not said.) How do stories influence others?

I’m interested in the place of writing in our climate-changed environment; cli-fi and speculative fiction, historical fiction, biofiction, translit fiction and literary fiction are all areas I write into and about. I’m currently exploring narratives around the first atomic test that took place in New Mexico, USA —claimed as one of the significant markers of the Anthropocene—and the dropping of the first atomic bombs in World War Two. My new novel will be published by Harper Collins in 2021/22 and I’m writing an adaption of my novel Storyland (2017) for the stage, commissioned by Merrigong Theatre, Illawarra.

How did you find yourself where you are now professionally?

I have always loved writing and reading. I did a Bachelor of Arts, then Honours at Flinders University. After, I joined with other graduates to start a theatre company, called the Red Shed, where I worked as a director and playwright. It ran for ten years as a professional company.

During that time, I also worked at the State Theatre Company of SA as a freelance director. I left because I wanted to write novels. I did a Masters in Creative Writing at UTS and wrote my first novel The Nearly Happy Family. I finished my second novel, Storyland, as part of a PhD research project at Flinders University. I began working at the University of Wollongong in 2006 as a casual and joined full time in 2012 as a lecturer. I teach creative writing.

What makes a great PhD candidate?

Often it is someone who has a big project in mind; usually an ambitious idea that needs time and reflection. It’s good if they are an independent thinker, passionate about their research area, even obsessed by it. It’s important to enjoy writing, enjoy communicating ideas. A PhD is hard work, exhausting, so it helps to be organized and to know how to manage research time, however it is also vital to take time off and relax, let the ideas stew for a bit. The PhD projects I supervise have a critical and creative component, so students need to be engaged with the how and why of creativity, as well as their own creative project.

Sarah is a wonderful PhD candidate. An absolute joy. Before she came to the university, she was already a well respected and awarded journalist and novelist. Her PhD research area is biofiction and the protagonist of her novel is a fictional version of the artist John Russell, but she is also discovering and writing about what it means to fictionalise the life of a famous historical figure. What might be the ethical problems involved? How does a writer discover an authentic fictional voice? Sessions with Sarah are a pleasure; we discuss her project which involves writing and art that we are both fascinated with. I’m very keen for her to become expert in the biofiction field and can’t wait for her novel to be published.

How do you guide candidates on their journey?

We meet to discuss the project and talk about its place in the world. What does the candidate want to say and do? In the beginning we work together to clarify the research questions and outline the theory and methods needed to explore them. I’m there to help a candidate navigate their project, decide upon its scope, but also, to help them protect their research and writing time. A PhD requires a strange mix of disciplined research and what I call brooding work—the deep thinking, the dreaming. Together we discuss and discover the right way to balance the work required.

Sarah’s particular focus is to do with writing biofiction about artists. So I read the novels she is analysing and provide feedback on the critical or creative writing she submits. I help her problem solve, remind her to take time out when she needs.

What should candidates consider when finding a supervisor?

My advice is to find someone whose research interests match your own. Check out the field, talk to a range of supervisors, decide who is right for you and your project. You will be spending quite a bit of time with your supervisor, so you need to get along together and respect each other. Look at the research work the supervisor is doing and their current candidates. Find out about the research environment at the university; understand the kind of support you will and won’t get, don’t go into it blind.

Meet the candidate: Sarah Turnbull

Can you give a description of the topic or question you are investigating?

I’m examining biofiction, or biographical fiction, and how writers go about creating authentic voices for protagonists based on real historical figures. The last few decades have seen a boom in the literary form in Australia and abroad, and yet as a field of study it has been quite neglected – for a long time biofiction was lumped in with historical fiction and it’s only relatively recently that it has been seen as a distinct form with its own aims. This neglect, combined with the bold experimentation now occurring in the field, makes it a really exciting time to be looking at biographical fiction.

How did you select your research topic? Where does your interest in this field stem from?

My research topic arose out of my creative project, which is a biographical novel based on the Australian Impressionist John Russell. I first came across his paintings 20 years ago – ironically not in Australia but in France, where he moved in the late 19th century.

I remember staring at Russell’s dazzling canvases and feeling a bit ashamed. Who was this Australian painter I’d never heard of? I became fascinated with his story, which as well as being a remarkable creative journey is also a passionate love story and a Homeric adventure – without the hero’s return at the end. Like Russell, I also lived for some years in France and when I moved back to Sydney I started thinking of him again. What must it have been like to return to live in Sydney after being away for 40 years?

I was struck by the poignancy: back in Australia no-one cared about his work or the fact that he’d been close friends with Rodin and Van Gogh, and that he’d tutored Matisse. Since then, research for my novel has led me twice to Belle Ile, the island off the Breton coast where Russell lived for several decades and where he had his most extraordinary creative period. I also participated in an ABC documentary called John Russell: Australia’s Lost Impressionist.

How did you find your supervisor?

I first met Cath through a mutual friend many years ago, and I also knew and loved her writing. So it was wonderful to discover that she was working at UOW and was able to take me on as a student. As well as being a scholar and creative writer, she has a keen appreciation and understanding of art – Cath’s husband is an artist - which given my subject is really helpful. I’m very lucky to have her as my supervisor.

How do you think your research can change the world?

I think my research will make a difference in several ways. Firstly, through the creative work by shining a light on an Australian artist who, because he didn’t paint the Australian landscape has never got the recognition given to artists such as Streeton and Roberts. My exegesis on biofiction helps fill some important gaps.

Despite the invaluable scholarship of Michael Lackey, and also Australian scholars such as Catherine Padmore and Kelly Gardiner, compared to other literary forms biofiction remains under-researched. My exegesis explores some really important ethical issues surrounding the use of historical figures and what it’s okay to make up and invent about real people. It also proposes protocols for biographical novelists and offers a new framework for how writers approach the challenge of creating authentic voices for fictional characters based on real “others”.

What advice would you give someone considering doing postgraduate studies?

Choose a subject you really love - you’re going to need that love to pull you through the times when the challenge seems overwhelming and you don’t know what you’re doing! Walk, swim, run: do something active for your head. When you lose confidence in your project try to remember that’s part of the process. Having a supervisor that understands what you’re trying to do and is excited about your research is invaluable.