The fonds consists of: 1) correspondence - mainly with fellow writers including Patrick Lane, Susan Musgrave, George Payerle, Robin Skelton, and George Woodcock and with publishers; 2) manuscripts - mainly of his own poetry, drama, and prose, including a BC Bibliography of Literature; 3) notebooks - in which appear ideas, diary entries, drafts of work, etc.; and 4) audio cassettes (not yet listed).
The fonds consists of material relating to book reviews by Russell, including Russell's correspondence with Howard Gerwing and Russell's articles about George Cuomo, Robin Skelton, Stanley Cooperman, John Newlove, and Liam O'Flaherty; and, drafts of Russell's unpublished novels and short stories.
The fonds consists of manuscripts and typescripts of: Reference West Chapbooks and Hawthorne Anthologies; Reference West publications such as B.C. Profiles, The Preview, Fortnightly Preview, The Poetry Newsletter, and Reference West; and Reference West Bibliographical Checklists, Catalogues and Symposia. It also includes some manuscript/typescript material not included in the Chapbooks, together with some correspondence from a few of the authors.