‘The people who can peak as bright young things often have the family background, support and resources to do so.’ Photo: Shutterstock.
While the push for more diverse writers in the Australian publishing industry is generating change, one stalwart is yet to budge, a preference that’s endemic in all cultural spheres: the continued valorisation of youth.
She added: ‘I urge those in positions of power in this regard to move beyond convention and be bolder and broader with their thinking [regarding] whom they may assume is best placed to build a successful writing career with the support of awarding winning work.’
Thuy On is the former Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
She has three collections of poetry published by the University of Western Australian Press (UWAP): Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025).
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
