School of Communication and Arts

Dr Amber Gwynne

Associate Lecturer
School of Communication and Arts
Level 6, Room 613, Michie Building (#9)
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Researcher biography

Amber is a writer, editor, and communications strategist who teaches in the Writing, Editing and Publishing program. Her PhD, which received a Dean's Award for Outstanding HDR Theses, focused on the experiences of readers with a history of depression who choose and use self-help books. This research considered the ways readers interact with texts, from a reader-response or reader-reception approach. Amber has an enduring interest in publishing ecosystems, popular psychology, illness narratives, and user-centred writing.

In addition to her teaching, Amber works as a communications adviser for the Queensland Department of Education and as production manager and copyeditor for the Journal of Australian Studies. Her essays and creative non-fiction have been published in Griffith Review, Overland, and Kill Your Darlings, among others.

Publications

Journal Articles (10)
Newspaper Articles (5)

Journal Articles

Gwynne, Amber (2024). Mustard seed: faith, doubt and the legacy of leaving. Griffith Review, 86 (Leaps of Faith), 132-154.
Gwynne, Amber E. (2024). ‘Up to you’: self-help books, depression and the reconstruction of reading. Media, Culture and Society, 46 (2), 324-342. doi: 10.1177/01634437231198431
Gwynne, Amber (2024). James and the Giant BLEEP: Old books, bad words and the alchemical good of reading. Griffith Review (83), 29-39.
Gwynne, Amber (2023). Sell like a girl: Instagram ‘fempires’ and the rise of the activist-influencer. Griffith Review.
Gwynne, Amber (2023). Help yourself: Giving a f*ck about self-help books. Griffith Review.
Gwynne, Amber (2023). Reading the room: The dirty work of book reviewing. Griffith Review.
Gwynne, Amber (2023). Consuming content: How SEO killed the food blog. Griffith Review.
Gwynne, Amber (2022). Living like this. Kill Your Darlings.
Gwynne, Amber (2021). The harder questions we should be asking on R U OK? Day. Overland.
Schmuttermaier, John R., Schmitt, David J., King, Catherine M. and Gwynne, Amber E. (2011). Whole of client health care in a gridlocked system: an insider dialogue between the theory and practice of community case management. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 23 (1), 36-49. doi: 10.1177/1084822310368631

Newspaper Articles

Myers, Melanie and Gwynne, Amber (2024, 09 23). Am I The Asshole? How judging other people’s dirty laundry became the internet’s favourite pastime The Conversation
Gwynne, Amber (2024, 01 29). Maid author Stephanie Land reveals the ‘constant, crushing’ panic of her hungriest year, but this college memoir is ‘emptier’ The Conversation
Gwynne, Amber (2024, 01 04). 15 literary podcasts to make you laugh, learn and join conversations about books The Conversation
Gwynne, Amber (2023, 09 27). Millie Bobby Brown’s debut novel is a bestseller. Does it matter that the 19-year-old actor didn’t write it? The Conversation
Gwynne, Amber (2023, 09 13). Can self-help books help with depression? I spoke to readers to find out The Conversation

Areas of research

Writing