Express Media – We're here for young writers

As promised in the magazine, you can now listen to the edcommitorial from Play, which is confusingly but sensibly itself called Listen. It's both written and read by Rosanna Stevens.

Buying presents is never as easy as you expect. It's a particular problem when buying for the book lover. They like books, let's get them a book, I think to myself. Oh wait. Will they already have it? Will they like it? Will they turn their nose up and forever doubt my literary tastes? Maybe I should get them a nice Moleskine instead. It seems one solution is to buy them a gift that looks like a book but isn't one. Like this:

Lorelei Vashti. Female. Lives in Melbourne (for the minute). Member of the literati brat-pack (my invention). Is regularly published in a whole heap of places, including The Age (weekly column), TheVine, Behind Ballet and is famous for her insane Courtney Love updates for Defamer. Also, her blog is chock-a-block full of excellent pieces you won't find anywhere else. Absolutely crazy, in a hug-and-kiss-a-stranger way (not a knife-in-the-back-of-Monica-Seles way).

Zoe Dattner. Female. Lives in central Victoria, Australia. Writer of fiction and nonfiction. Co-founder and Creative Director of Sleepers Publishing. General Manager of SPUNC (the Small Press Underground Networking Community), a peak organisation that represents, advocates, and promotes more than eighty small publishers around Australia. Is also a graphic designer, and has worked in pretty much all areas of publishing. Kicks arse about town.

Do you like to write with music playing, either in the background or blasting in your earphones? Or do you prefer silence? I almost always need music to write. It’s become a need, mainly because I’m always writing in a busy space – home (with many housemates), cafes (with angry baristas) or libraries (with yelpy weirdos) – but also because it channels my thoughts. John Cleese says this about creativity: ‘The most dangerous thing when writing is to be interrupted.’ He recommends creating boundaries of space (in conjunction with boundaries of time) so that you create an oasis in which to write. Cleese likens creativity to a tortoise. Only when it feels safe will it poke its head out, and the slightest disturbance can scare it back inside its enclosure. I think that for me, having the appropriate music (turned up to eleven) gives me a space by blocking out all aural interruptions. And subsequently any visual distractions (like in a public place) become redundant as they have no aural context. For a while, way back when, I was able to write to any music – even the radio was fine. As long as it played without me having to do anything, I was okay. I’d have Bob Dylan carping or Leonard Cohen rumbling or Iron and Wine trolololololing all around the room, and I would write.

Cate Kennedy. Female. Lives in north-east Victoria. Has published a novel, a travel memoir, two collections of poetry and many stories (including the short fiction collection Dark Roots). Born in Lincolnshire, England before moving to Australia in her childhood. Has won a variety of short story accolades, and just last month won the People's Choice Award at the New South Wales Premier's Awards for her novel, The World Beneath.

Tai Snaith. Female. Melbourne-based artist. Former Voiceworks EdCommer. Exhibits and performs around the world. Works with a diverse variety of media and has performed in all sorts of spaces. Known in the arts community for organising collaborative works. Has a regular spot on Melbourne radio station Triple R's Smart Arts program. Is also a curator, teacher, lecturer and volunteer.

David Sornig. Male. Married with two children. Writer and academic. Lives in Adelaide, where he teaches creative writing at university. Born in Melbourne to German and Austrian immigrants. Debut novel Spiel published in 2009 by University of Western Australia Press. Has also published short fiction, memoir and literary criticism. Interested in architecture, sustainable living, music and looking soulful in photos.

Kalinda Ashton. Female. Lives in Melbourne. Debut novel The Danger Game completed as part of a doctorate in Creative Media by research, and published in 2009 by Sleepers Publishing. Has had short stories in a bucketful of publications, including Meanjin, Overland, The Sleepers Alamanacs, Kill Your Darlings and Hecate. Her short plays have also been produced. Teaches writing and editing at university level. Associate editor at Overland. And more.

Louise Swinn. Female. Lives in Melbourne, Australia. Co-founder and Editorial Director of Sleepers Publishing. Writer of fiction and nonfiction. Book reviewer. Sits on a bunch of boards and committees. Dedicated, passionate and paid up.