Monash Scholar Awarded Prestigious Fellowship for Creative Research
Photo credit: Eugene Hyland
Monash University lecturer and literary scholar Associate Professor Michelle Smith has been awarded the 2026 Redmond Barry Fellowship by the State Library Victoria.
Michelle was one of just 13 creatives and scholars selected to share $180,000 of funding, alongside dedicated workspace and expert research support.
The fellowships support ambitious projects spanning prototypes, performance, visual arts, soundscapes, books, and more. Designed to bridge academic research and creative practice, the initiative gives scholars and artists the resources required to execute complex, resource-intensive projects.
At Monash University, Michelle teaches across several literary disciplines, including fairy tales, children’s and young adult literature, and Victorian literature. Her primary research areas include femininity in Victorian print culture and British and Australian children's literature.
The grant will provide crucial access to specialised research archives, allowing Michelle to expand her investigation into how nineteenth-century print media shaped modern representations of gender and youth narratives.