Rate My Professor Lynda Hawryluk

Dr Lynda Hawryluk is a Senior Lecturer in Writing and Course Coordinator of Creative Writing programs in the Faculty of Education at Southern Cross University. She holds a BA, Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary), MA (Hons), and PhD in Writing from the University of Western Sydney, awarded in 2003. Prior to her current role, Hawryluk worked as a school teacher specializing in English, Aboriginal Studies, History, and Drama, and served as a Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies at Central Queensland University. At Southern Cross University, she lectures in writing units, supervises Honours, Masters, Master of Letters, and PhD students, and has successfully guided numerous students to completion. An experienced writing workshop facilitator, she has conducted sessions for community and writing groups in Queensland and Canada. Hawryluk has been a featured guest at literary festivals including the Byron Writers Festival, Grassroots Writers Festival, and Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival. She previously served as President and Chair of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs and currently holds the position of Deputy Chair on the Byron Writers Festival board.

Hawryluk's creative and academic work centers on landscape poetry, particularly coastal areas and islands, extending to island communities and literature, Gothic coastlines, and ecopoetry. Her contributions align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through her research and teaching. She is a prolific writer published in both academic and creative outlets, with key works including the journal article 'Surfing with shivers: the Gothic Far North Coast in poetry' (TEXT, 2021), book chapter 'Northern Rivers Gothic, Ballina: A Seacoast Suite on Sharks, Shipwrecks, and the Sea' (2024), 'Exploring Australian Coastal Gothic: Poetry and Place' (book chapter), 'Negotiating "negative capability": the role of place in writing for two Australian poets' (Axon Journal, 2014), and co-edited introduction 'Introduction: writing and researching (in) the regions' (TEXT Special Issue, 2019). Her poetry, essays, nonfiction books, and short stories explore place-based themes, contributing to discussions in creative writing pedagogy and regional literary studies.