3 July 2019

Welcoming Mikaela Williams as our new Intern for the Deakin University Nonfiction Prize !

Here at Express Media, we are so happy to welcome Mikaela Williams to the team as our new Intern for the Deakin University Nonfiction Prize!

Mikaela is a writer newly based in Melbourne, Victoria. She has spent the last two years living, studying and working in Busan, South Korea. She is a current Deakin student studying her Masters of Writing and Literature, with a particular interest in surrealist literature. She likes dadaist fiction and drinking copious amounts of tea. 

We had a little get-to-know-you with Mikaela before she starts her role with us, and we’re so intrigued by surrealist literature?

1)What part about being the Deakin Prize Intern are you most excited about?

Experiencing the ins and outs of the publishing and the literature industry. I’m particularly interested in being immersed within the culture of the production of writing, to see how it goes from infancy to fully realised product. So far it’s been a really enlightening experience and everyone has been incredibly kind and helpful!

2) Are you a writer/artist/editor yourself? What do you like to create, and what do you like to read?

I am an aspiring writer with an interest in editing. I love reading anything Jeanette Winterson and Deborah Levy and have a soft spot for the kind of awful true crime novels you buy from the $5 bin at your local news agency. I have a passion for writing surrealist literature and hope to one day finish a full length novel in the genre. Lately I’ve been reading Han Kang’s catalogue of work and can not recommend Human Acts highly enough.

3) What do you hope to do after your time with Express Media?

I hope to have a clearer concept of the publishing industry and my potential place within it. As I have been living and working overseas I’ve had very little opportunity to become a part of the writing community in Melbourne/Australia. I hope to change this and immerse myself with other like-minded writers and individuals. I want to help harbour a sense of community and togetherness with writers, in a way that helps us grow and create to the best of our abilities.


Deakin University and Express Media are continuing the legacy of the Nonfiction Prize for Young Writers with the Deakin University Nonfiction Prize. This prize is a unique development award to foster talented writers aged 30 and under writing longform nonfiction.

Entries between 5,000 and 10,000 words are welcome across all nonfiction genres, including memoir, journalism, essay, and creative nonfiction.

Entries are currently open and close 11.59pm Sunday 1 September. More information can be found here.