Curators

Melanie Saward

Melanie Saward

Aboriginal First Nations Curator

Melanie Saward is a proud Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman. She is a writer, editor, and university lecturer based in Tulmur (Ipswich), Queensland. Her debut novel 'Burn' was published by Affirm Press in 2023 and she’s also had work published in the literary journals Griffith Review, Meanjin, Overland, Kill Your Darlings, and has fiction published in the anthologies 'Flock: First Nations Stories Then and Now', and 'New Australian Fiction'. Her first romantic comedy novel, 'Love Unleashed', will be published by Penguin Random House in August.

Lenora Thaker

Lenora Thaker

Torres Strait Islander First Nations Curator

Lenora Thaker is Erubam-le and a descendant of Mabuiag Island, born and raised on Gimuy country. In 2021 she became the first Torres Strait Islander to be awarded the Writing NSW Boundless Award for her manuscript: 'The Pearl of Shantytown'. Her family, who were among the first wave of Torres Strait Islanders to establish fringe-dwelling communities on the mainland, are the inspiration for her new novel, soon to be published by Text Publishing.

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