SARAH CARROLL (she/they) is a Rotuman/Australian queer writer, performer and emerging producer working on Dharug Land (Western Sydney). In 2022, Sarah debuted her one woman show Cherry at KXT Bakehouse as part of the Panimo Pandemonium festival to a sold out showing and an encore season at Everything But The Kitchen Sink Festival at Flight Path Theatre. Sarah also performed Cherry at the Sydney Fringe Festival where they won the Tour Ready Award and NIDA Best Emerging Actor. They were a Midsumma Pathways and an AFTRS Talent Camp participant and have been selected by Antipodes Theatre to develop a new theatre work, Sorry Not Sorry, with Marissa Saroca. Sarah strives to champion underrepresented voices being heard and to create works that uplift and engage audiences in new and exciting ways, usually with lots of sparkle and sass.
GEORGIA CHAPMAN is a queer feminist writer living on Dharug and Gundungurra land. She has desperately let down her six-year-old self by not having several books published already but is now working on a novel that explores mental health, family, identity and sexuality. She was the winner of the Western Sydney Rainbow Communities Short Story Competition in 2022 and the Australian Poetry Slam’s youth competition in 2017.
ROBERT HOANG is an emerging writer, amateur photographer and aspiring English teacher from South-Western Sydney. He is particularly passionate about breaking down the concepts of multiculturalism, humanism and educational philosophy through short stories and essays, and his work has previously appeared in Honi Soit, the University of Sydney’s student newspaper. When he is not wasting camera film or teaching Shakespeare, he is working on his debut novel, ‘Big Trouble in Little Saigon’.
MICHELLE HUYNH is a Chinese-Australian emerging writer from Western Sydney. In 2020, she was shortlisted for the Emerging Writers’ Festival Home Residency Program. At present, she is an editor for the University of New South Wales literary publication, UNSWeetened. She primarily writes slice-of-life fiction and narratives that centre around the small, but no less significant, moments of private lives.
J. MARAHUYO is a Filipino-Australian poet currently residing on Wangal country. Her poems have placed in a humble number of competitions, and she has been published in the Cordite Poetry Review and the Living Stories anthology. She was shortlisted for the inaugural Born Writers Award, with her work forthcoming on their website as well as in ZineWest and the Short Stories Unlimited Seasons anthology. In 2022, she was selected to take part in WestWords Academy, Express Media’s Toolkits Lite: Poetry and The Writing Zone. She explores themes of identity, mental health and everyday moments as whimsically as possible and is currently working on her first collection of poetry. Her Instagram is @j_marahuyo.
MOONTANA MOHSIN is an emerging artist from Sydney. Her work in fiction, poetry and digital media explores relationships, identity and the extremities and minutia of contemporary human experiences. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Creative Writing from UNSW, neither of which are her source of income. Moontana has written for the Sydney Writers’ Festival and Channel 10 and was the Senior Editor of UNSWeetened during her time as an undergrad. Moontana enjoys people watching and pretending to drown in bodies of water.
H. MAY OXLEY is a writer from the Blue Mountains. She has been world-building since she was a small child and is currently in the process of trying to shuffle all her notes on the ‘Khorrazhan Empire’ into one location. May is also an artist and has completed a Bachelors in graphic design and game design, with hopes of one day using the latter as a vehicle for stories. Her themes are often dark (though rarely without positive spin), dialogue-heavy, and lean towards fantasy. Her original work might see better progress if she would stop writing 300k fanfictions about games she half-hates.
DANIA ROUMIEH has a Bachelor of Communications with Distinction (Journalism) from Western Sydney University. She was elected as a Student Editor for the Western Sydney University Student Editorial team and Publication Committee. Dania initiated and founded ‘Humans of Western Sydney’, which promotes and showcases a diverse collection of stories shared by students. She was recently recognised and celebrated by Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC. Dania is currently a freelance Journalist and focuses her stories on diversity and representation. Her work has appeared with AMUST, ABC Religion & Ethics. Dania is always on the lookout for a new book to read.
MARY STANLEY is a Macedonian-Australian speculative fiction writer with an ambition to tell stories that challenge morality and disturb the peace. Mary’s work is heavily influenced by themes of dysfunctional relationships, manipulative personalities and destruction in all its forms. She attacks the horrors that hide behind closed doors and brandishes them to those who would rather have them locked away, kept silent and unseen. Her short stories ‘Late for Dinner’, ‘Assimilation’, and ‘Undrown’ have been published in ARNA and the Sydney University Anthology. Her short plays Mystic Nights, The Late Hours and The Farm in City X have been staged at the amateur theatre productions 24 Hour Theatre, Bridge Works and Tales from the Metropolis.
REBECCA WARD is an emerging writer from Liverpool, South-Western Sydney. She has recently completed her Bachelors in Publishing and Writing and is currently studying to complete a Masters in Librarianship. She is interested in writing non-fiction and fantasy and considers herself a novice at both. She loves stories with intricate worldbuilding and satisfying payoffs.
DANNY YAZDANI is an Arts and Social Work student, majoring in English and Sociology. He writes in his spare time or, more importantly, when he is struck by an overwhelming feeling or sensation that he can only express to others through the written word. He hopes to bring justice to the world one day, whether that be through the practice of social work or through literary means. However, if opportunity strikes, he hopes to be a multi-modal writer across the literary, poetic and theatrical fields. As a member of the Iranian-Australian diaspora, he is fascinated by topics of biculturalism, masculinity, intergenerational trauma and theatre. His favourite quote is, ‘Hope will never be silent’.
VICTOR GUAN YI ZHOU is an Australian-born Manchurian-Chinese writer and art maker. He participates in the Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement and is studying towards a Bachelor of Design Computing and Art History. Victor’s non-fiction and creative works have been featured in Voiceworks, Sydney Environment Institute and Verge Gallery.