Janet McCalman is known for her award-winning books Struggletown, Journeyings and Sex and Suffering, all published by MUP. She co-edited with Emma Dawson What Happens Next- Reconstructing Australia after Covid-19' in 2020. For over twenty years she taught and researched interdisciplinary history at the University of Melbourne. In 2018 she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.
"""Vandemonians offers an important and eloquent accompaniment to the vast and valuable data gathered in the significant 'Founders and Survivors Ships Project Data'. The book uses both prosopography and a 'cradle to grave' approach to illuminate the untold history of the thousands of Vandemonians who went to early Port Phillip. The life course writing not only gives voice and vibrancy to 'forgotten women', it showcases ways to interpret and navigate digital history data. The empathy McCalman shows in revealing convict women's experiences makes this book of vital historiographical and empirical importance to scholars in the field. "" --AHA KAY DANIELS AWARD, JUDGES' COMMENDATION"