Dr. Heather Neilson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities & Social Sciences at UNSW Canberra, where she has taught since 1995, initially in the English and Media Studies program and joining the History program in 2023. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Honours (First Class) from the University of Melbourne and a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Prior to her long tenure at UNSW@ADFA, Neilson held positions at the University of Sydney and the University of Western Australia. Her academic career is marked by significant leadership in American studies, including serving as President of the Australian and New Zealand American Studies Association from 1998 to 2002 and as the Australasian representative on the International Committee of the American Studies Association from 2002 to 2005.

Neilson's research focuses on American studies, particularly fictional and cinematic representations of historical and political events, intertextuality, and popular culture adaptations of the classics, with extensive work on Gore Vidal and Jay Parini. She authored the monograph Political Animal: Gore Vidal on Power (Monash University Publishing, 2014). Key publications include the chapter 'Vidal, Gore' in Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction (Wiley-Blackwell, 2022), 'Herodotus in Fiction: Gore Vidal's Creation' in Brill's Companion to the Receptions of Herodotus in Antiquity and Beyond (Brill, 2016), 'Owning Anzac Day: The One Day of the Year' in Anzac Day: Then and Now (UNSW Press, 2016), and the journal article 'Other Faces: Racial Representations and Revisionist History' in Australasian Journal of American Studies (2020). She has contributed numerous book chapters and articles, such as 'Teaching African American Literature and Film at the Australian Defence Force Academy' (2012) and 'A Theatre of Politics: History's Actors in Gore Vidal's Empire' (2008). Neilson held prominent editorial roles with the Australasian Journal of American Studies, serving as Literary Reviews Editor from 1996 to 2004 and 2015 to 2022, and co-editor from 2008 to 2015. Her work has influenced scholarship on American literature and its intersections with history and culture.

Professional Email: h.neilson@unsw.edu.au