Dr. Stefanie Markidis

Stefanie is a writer and researcher in the expanded field of nonfiction writing. Her research practice spans life writing, creativecritical writing practice, archives and creative practice interventions in nonfiction. She is a core member of the non/fictionLab research group and has a particular interest in form and poetics in nonfiction. She has lectured in creative writing, literary studies and journalism at RMIT since 2015 and has considerable experience supporting HDR candidates and developing creative-practice research training. Stefanie coordinates Work-Integrated-Learning placements for undergraduate and postgraduate journalism students.

Research

Stefanie is interested in life stories, how they are communicated and the capacity of this communication to make positive change in the world. Through her research, teaching and writing, she seeks to understand links between ontology and creative form, with conceptual and material interventions that explore creativity in critical thought. Stefanie passionate about creative-critical writing and activations of philosophy/theory in literary practice.

Stefanie's research interests include:

• Creative nonfiction and life writing, including forms of creative-critical writing, auto/biography, literary and creative journalism
• Applied philosophy and literary theory in writing, with focus on creativity in writing/language, writing difference and creativity, philosophy in literature and poetics
• Community writing: writing diaspora and memory, collective biography
• Teaching and research pedagogy: creative practice research, research writing, pedagogical approaches to journalism and writing education

Publications

Dr Markidis publishes academic and creative outputs in key industry and academic publications. Her latest publication is ‘Poetry, Self-Erasure and the Trace: Writing counter-history from an embodied archive’ (AXON Journal, 2023), which analyses creative-critical poetics through embodied practice of writing illness memoir. Stefanie is revising her PhD thesis A Body at the Edge of Language for publication as a monograph.

Awards

• Awarded the Research Services Award for Continuous Improvement in 2022
• Awarded Dean’s Award for Outstanding Sessional Staff Member in 2019
• Shortlisted for the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award (Nonfiction) in 2015

Supervision

Passionate about Higher Degree research, Stefanie supervises PhD, Masters and Honours researchers across creative writing, journalism and communication. Her supervisor interests are listed below.

Stefanie is currently supervising three PhD candidates and one honours project across creative writing and literary journalism. 

Stefanie's key activities include research, creative outputs, supervision, teaching, industry and community engagement. Key responsibilities include: 

• Supervision and support of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates, particularly in creative practice research
• Industry engagement – coordination of journalism internships with 160+ industry partners 
• Course and program development  
• Research dissemination and communication

• PhD (Media and Communication) in Creative Writing, RMIT University
  • Thesis: ‘A Body at the Edge of Language: writing anorexia, bulimia and recovering’
  • Practice-led research project, developed creative critical writing modalities for eating disorder memoir
  • Undertaken with an RTS Scholarship
• Bachelor of Media and Communication Honours, RMIT University
• Bachelor of Communication (Journalism), RMIT University

Lecturing in writing since 2015, Stefanie is also a published writer and cultural journalist. Stefanie was awarded her PhD in Creative Writing from RMIT University in 2020 and since 2022 has been an ongoing academic staff member in the School of Media and Communication.

Stefanie’s research, writing and engagement work is community-aligned, with coordination of industry partnerships (via workshops, public lecture programs and student work placements), and community-driven writing/research projects. Recent engagement projects include a Digital Storytelling workshop series with SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) and the Present Tense creative writing lecture series. In 2023, Stefanie is a judge for the Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Writing Prize.