Rate My Professor Martin Chatterton

Dr. Martin Chatterton serves as Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Southern Cross University, located in Lismore, Australia. Originally from Liverpool, United Kingdom—a major slaving port that dominated the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the second half of the 18th century—Chatterton is an internationally renowned author, illustrator, and crime fiction writer now residing in Lennox Head, New South Wales. He completed his PhD at Southern Cross University from 2013 to 2017 within the School of Arts and Social Sciences higher degree creative practice program. His practice-led doctoral research produced the creative thesis 'The Last Slave Ship', a novel delving into the final slaving voyage that departed from Liverpool in 1809. This historical narrative intertwines with contemporary depictions of civil unrest and race-hate crime in Liverpool, where Chatterton posits that 'the last slave ship didn’t leave Liverpool in 1809. Liverpool is the last slave ship.' The work addresses ongoing social problems and the marginalization of Liverpool's 400-year-old black community, one of the most invisible in England. Chatterton stated that the PhD process sharpened his writing, making research more thorough and comprehensive, adding richness backed by the program while ensuring his books stand on their own merits. He presented his creative thesis at conferences in London and Denmark.

Chatterton embodies dual literary personas: as Martin Chatterton, he authors and illustrates surreally comic children’s books, with 20 such books acclaimed by 2007; as alter-ego Ed Chatterton, he crafts hard-boiled adult crime fiction. A graduate of Southern Cross University's creative writing program, he has achieved both critical and popular reception, as noted in a 2010 study by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs. His university involvement includes a 2007 presentation in the university library on the interaction between illustration and words, and participation in the 2013 Byron Bay Writers Festival with sessions titled ‘Blue of white collar: does class determine crime?’, ‘Chick lit, mass market: am I literary enough for you?’, ‘Don’t fence me in: writers crossing genres’, and a youth ‘Meet Martin Chatterton’ event. These engagements highlight Southern Cross University's support for Australia's best writers and thinkers.