The Express Media team is so excited to announce the ten young writers who will be taking part in this season of Toolkits: Fiction!

Facilitated by Anna Kate Blair, this online course explores forms, skills, and ethics of writing fiction, combining theoretical approaches and practical exercises to guide young writers through the development of new work. 

Young writers will be encouraged to write, workshop and edit their writing throughout the course. They will hone their skills in textual analysis, create their own original work, explore the possibilities of collaborative work, and learn how to pitch work to publishers when they’re done.

Congratulations to this year’s cohort – we can’t wait to see what exciting work arises from this program!

Chloe Bloom (they/them) is a writer, editor and bookseller living and studying in Naarm. Their writing usually revolves around queerness and coming of age, sometimes bending into the horror genre. One day they will maybe finish their novel. 

@finalgirlapologist 

Dana Hubraq (she/her) is an emerging writer and artist on Gadigal land. While her practice is often personal, exploring her diasporic Circassian heritage, she aims to highlight the relatability of nostalgia and grief. She often marries specific cultural and historical dichotomies; the low brow versus the high brow and reality versus conspiracy. These assemblages blur the boundary between the individual and the collective, reviving the universality of human history and memory. 

@dhubraqt 

Danielle Scrimshaw (she/her) is a writer, historian and emerging bird watcher. She has been published in Voiceworks, Overland, The Guardian and Archer Magazine. She and Her Pretty Friend is her first book. 

@dani_delivers 

Grace Hu (she/her) holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Political Science from the University of Sydney. Her poetry has been published in Shot Glass Magazine and Cordite Poetry Review. Her fiction shortlisted the USU Verge Creative Awards in 2021 and 2023. She has published in Honi Soit, Pulp and co-wrote Slanted Theatre’s Chain Play.

June Bellebono (they/he/she) is a Naarm-based writer, cultural producer and facilitator. They are the founder of Queer Good Grief, a peer support group by and for bereaved LGBTQ+ people. 

They have written for VICE, HUCK, Novara Media and several other publications, and their writing has been featured in anthologies ‘East Side Voices’ and ‘Letters from the Grief Club’. June is passionate about blending the light and the dark in the way they approach emotionally-charged topics and spaces, and is a firm believer of the social impact art can trigger. 

@junebellebabe 

Lilly (she/her) is an aspiring writer and editor from Naarm (Melbourne). After finishing her Bachelor of Arts majoring in Screen and Cultural Studies, she is now undertaking a Masters in Creative Writing, Editing and Publishing at the University of Melbourne. She loves contemporary fiction and books about complicated, and often unlikable, female characters. When she’s not writing or reading, you’ll find her nestled in the comfort of a cinema, watching whatever film catches her eye. 

@lillysok 

Phoebe Thorburn (they/them) is a queer emerging writer & recipe developer living on unceded Boon Wurrung Country (Melbourne, Australia). Their writing explores food, comfort, connection, mental health & living in a world designed for neurotypical minds and able bodies. Their work has been published by Frankie Magazine & ABC Everyday. 

@hoeybunchofoniontops 

Saanjana Kapoor (she/her) is a recent Bachelor of Arts graduate from the University of Melbourne. Her writing has been published in Voiceworks, Island, Cordite, and more. She is a recipient of a New Colombo Plan Scholarship by the Australian Government. 

Zahina Maghrabi (she/her) is a creative writer based in Australia, and performs poetry locally. In 2023, she was awarded with a bronze medal at the National Youth Poetry Slam, and has previously written for platforms such as SBS Voices, Amaliah and Portside Review. Her writing seeks to ponder the human condition and reflect the experiences as a Muslim Woman. She loves reading and writing, in her spare time, gathering inspiration from literature. Connect with her on Instagram @ghibliful_poetry 

Zoe Sorenson (she/her) is a writer and editor living on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm (Melbourne). Zoe is an enjoyer of rainbow colours, conversations about punctuation, and musing on (read: having crises over) the performance of the self.