This volume contains papers and problems presented to the Conference on Automatic Continuity and Banach Algebras, held at the Australian National University, January 2 - 20, 1989. The timing and duration of this conference was designed to fit into the January break of many northern hemisphere universities, yet to have a workshop environment to enhance interaction between participants.

The articles are essentially expanded versions of the talks given at the conference, with the exception of several papers which are appearing elsewhere. By deliberate policy the papers herein contain historical background, syntheses and expository accounts, as well as the development of new ideas and results. Following the papers is a list of unsolved problems presented here at Canberra. This volume concludes with a progress report on the problem list of the Long Beach conference on Radical Banach Algebras and Automatic Continuity, 1981.