Throughout the twentieth century many gay Australian writers and artists left Australia–some of them would never return. Beginning with this strangely unremarked historical fact, Dr Ellen Smith explores the relationship between ex-patriotism and a queer imaginary in mid-twentieth century Australian writing through a number of case studies of writers whose decision to leave Australia can be linked to their sexuality.

Dr Ellen Smith is a literary scholar interested in the global contexts of Australian literature, and a lecturer in Gender Studies and Australian Literature at Deakin University. Dr Smith is the 2019 Fellow supported by the Ray Mathew and Eva Kollsman Trust for Research in Australian Literature.