2018 Featured Writers

Piriye (Piri) Altraide is a Nigerian-born writer, spoken word artist and self-proclaimed dancefloor extraordinaire. Having escaped Perth and her past life as a Chartered Accountant, she is now a Melbournian undertaking a Masters in Creative Writing. Piriye’s work centres on identity, belonging and the journey to self-acceptance in the context of the African-Australian diaspora. Piriye has featured at Afro Hub, The Howler and Multicultural Arts Victoria. She is a 2014 Perth Poetry Slam finalist, co-curator of RMIT’s Unlecture series, and has had her work published in Mirrors of Africa, Myriad, The Lifted Brow and Milk Crates.

Makayla-May Brinckley is a proud Wiradjuri woman. She grew up on Wiradjuri country in Forbes and Cootamundra, NSW, and currently lives on Ngunnawal country while at university studying psychology. She learnt of her Aboriginality when she was in late primary school; much of her poetry reflects this internal trauma of having her culture stripped from her family, and her process of re-learning culture. Her Aboriginality shapes how she interacts with Country and community.

Saúl A. Zavarce C. is a Melbourne-based Venezuelan-Australian Human Rights advocate who migrated to Australia in 1992. He identifies as a mestizo and gender-queer, with Indigenous, Afro-Venezuelan and European heritage. He is the Head of Advocacy at the Venezuelan Australian Democratic Council and Campaign Officer at Plan International Australia. He holds a Master of International Relations, specialising in gender and radicalisation theory from Monash University.

Meleika Gesa-Fatafehi is a proud Black/Indigenous, Pasifika and West Asian writer. Their mob is from Murray (Mer) Island, from the Zagareb and Dauareb tribes. Meleika is also a literature and film critic; you can find her rambling at Endless Yarning, RadioNZ and NerdyPoC. She loves talking about all things nerdy, as well as decolonising spaces online and in real life.

Laniyuk was born of a French mother and a Larrakia, Kungarrakan and Gurindji father. Her poetry and short memoir often reflects the intersectionality of her cross cultural and queer identity. She was fortunate enough to contribute to the book Colouring the Rainbow: Blak Queer and Trans Perspectives as well as winning the Indigenous residency for Canberra’s Noted Writers Festival 2017 and Overland’s Writers Residency for 2018. Laniyuk currently lives in Melbourne but is hoping to one day return to her home town Darwin.

Vanessa Giron is a Latinx freelance writer based in Melbourne. She primarily writes on being a woman of colour and feminism, and how these things have shaped her as a modern Australian; however, she does on occasion write short stories and poetry when her brain permits. She is a member of the West Writers Group at Footscray Community Arts Centre. You can find Vanessa on Twitter or at vanessagiron.com.

Nyakour is an unapologetic 17-year-old African-Australian spoken word artist and poet. She is a pro-black intersectional feminist, tea drinking vegetarian goddess, with hella views on topics that effect not only herself but other people of colour. Her work is inspired by African culture, her environment and experiences as a young queer black woman living in Australia. For Nyakour poetry is a way of healing and connecting with others through words both written and spoken.

Devana Senanayake is a Sri Lankan content specialist and multimedia journalist. She focuses on feminism, immigration, race, colonisation and marginalisation. She is interested in the celebration of diverse voices, experiences and projects run by people of colour.

The Negro Speaks of Books is reading and discussing books by Authors of Colour here in Narrm, on unceded Wurundjeri land. You can see more of their work on Instagram @negrospeaksofbooks.

Yenaissance is a Melbourne-born Chinese writer, currently based in Sydney. Her special talents include quoting the Star Wars prequels verbatim, and an unhealthy ability to find out everything about her dates before she actually meets them in person. Although she’s never won an award for her exceptional online research skills, she was a winner in the 2017 Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards for her writing.