We are so excited to introduce this year’s Guest Curator at EWF!

moirra. (he/him/hir; xe/xer/xers) is a Yorta Yorta, Boon Wurrung, and Jewish transsexual poet, writer and artist living on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country. Xer work explores Blak Queerness and Queer Blakness, disability and madness, and relationality to Country, our Ancestors, and community.

We chatted to moirra. below to get know xer better before you can see xer appearance at our Program Launch at The Wheeler Centre on Wednesday 5 August, 6.30PM.

Tell us a bit about yourself, moirra.! Outside of being this year’s festival Guest Curator, what do you get up to? 

Unfortunately, my time is mostly occupied with studying! When I’ve got a break in between, though, I can be found squirrelled away at my desk trying to cram in as much writing or reading as I can. Outside of that, I’m practicing my invertebrate identification skills… Which are dubious at best. 

For those who don’t know, the EWF Guest Curator envisions, programs, and hosts the opening event of each annual Emerging Writers’ Festival. What made you bring your incredible curatorial work to EWF? 

I had the honour of being one of the writers performing at Mackenzie Lee’s 2024 opening night, LIB[ERA]RATION. The night was such an incredible experience and one I couldn’t stop thinking about months after. When I saw this year’s callout for the Guest Curator role, I saw it as an opportunity to curate an opening night that is just as meaningful for the mob performing, as well as the audience members coming through, as Mackenzie’s was for me. And of course, it’s a chance to imagine and put together an event with the support and help of the EWF team that I likely would never have otherwise had an opportunity to. 

From curatorship to your own writing practice, what draws you to the kinds of creative projects you work on? Is there anything in particular you are working on at the moment outside of EWF? 

I love anything collaborative. Much of my creative practice both as a child and now as an adult is collective in its nature, whether that was yarning a story back and forth with my Nan or getting together with friends to create alongside one another. Even if I go off and work on a creative project on my own later on, there always has been some part of that project where it’s been touched by someone else. I’m also drawn to creative projects where queerness and Indigeneity can be interwoven. Queer and trans mob hold such a wealth of experience, knowledge, and spirit within our communities, and we have an important and irreplaceable role as storytellers and performers as people who straddle the intersection between Blakness and queerness.  

Outside of EWF, I’m tidying up the manuscript for my horror and spec-fic short story collection, Little Suns, which I’ve been working on since 2022, and slowly pulling together all the poems floating about in various Word documents and notepads into a collection.  

Do you have any handy hints or tips for other emerging writers looking to begin their creative journeys? 

My first tip is to find yourself a group of writers to spend time with – online or offline. I obviously love a good body-doubling writing session, but even having a group of people where you can exchange ideas, or share experiences with and build upon knowledge. Storytelling is, in a lot of ways, a communal practice – even if someone is only interacting with your writing through a screen or a page in isolation, that’s still a kind of dialogue between you and your reader. Incorporating that communal and mutual relationship on a smaller scale with a group of peers or friends who write is invaluable. 

And otherwise, my other tip is just to submit to wherever you’re eligible, and apply for whatever opportunities you’re eligible for. The worst thing that can happen is a “no”, and there’s always something else you can try for. 

All this talk about writing and creativity! What have you been reading lately, or what are you excited to pick up soon? 

I’ve just finished reading Saou Ichikawa’s Hunchback, which was a wild read – in a good way! I’m currently slowly getting through The Glida Stories by Jewel Gomez, which is a lesbian spec-fic novel about a Black vampire, and spans around 200 years of her life. So far, it’s a layered take on vampirism, race, and sexuality. I’m sure once I’ve finished reading and digesting it (no pun intended), I’ll be yelling its praises on Instagram. 

As you know, there’s a LOT that goes into making a festival happen! Without giving too much away, what excites you most about curating EWF’s opening event? 

Very hard to do without giving too much away! It’s been interesting to slowly piece together what the opening night will look like, from the writers performing at the event to the venue and how we want the space to look like – including working with and around any limitations. Ultimately, though, I’m most excited to just see what work the writers will perform on the night and how they’ll choose to interpret and play with the theme. 

moirra. will be appearing at the 2026 Emerging Writers’ Festival Program Launch.

Book your spot below

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