Chaos Merchants

Sita Walker is a high school English teacher, freelance writer and award-winning memoirist whose first book, The God of No Good (Ultimo Press, 2023) was met with critical acclaim. Sita has written for The Guardian and the Griffith Review. In a Common Hour (Ultimo Press, 2026) is her debut novel.

Emily Lighezzolo has worked in Australian publishing for nearly a decade. Life Drawing won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer at the Queensland Literary Awards and is her first book. She lives in Meanjin/Brisbane.

Josie Shapiro is the author of two novels, Good Things Come and Go and Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts. She was a Sargeson Fellow in 2024 and one of 2025's New Voices of Aotearoa. She lives in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with her husband and two daughters.

Naïma Brown holds degrees in Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology and Religious Studies. Her non-fiction has appeared in Vogue Australia, the Guardian Australia, and more. She has spent over a decade working in news, current affairs and documentary. She was born and raised in Northern California before living and working in Yemen and Afghanistan, and now lives in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales with her husband and her dog. Naima is the author of The Shot and Mother Tongue. 

Alex Philp writes short fiction and screenplays. Her short fiction has recently appeared in Griffith Review, The Saturday Paper, Going Down Swinging, and elsewhere. She teaches at Griffith University.