Welcome to the voting page for the RUSSH Literary Showcase. Our judges, authors Lamisse Hamouda, Winnie Dunn, Elfy Scott and RUSSH Publisher & Editor In Chief, Jess Blanch, were deeply moved by the volume and impact of this year's submissions. They have decided on the following finalists.
These writers all in the running to be awarded as our Readers' Choice Winner – as selected by you, our readers. The power is in your hands – it's time to cast your vote.
Voting closes at 7pm AEST 15 April 2025.
Waves/Currents
About the author, Nanda Soe
Nanda Soe is a Burmese-Australian freelance photographer and writer based in Naarm/Melbourne. She is the Creative Director of food and arts publication, Hawker! (@hawkermag). All her work is guided by the value of storytelling—she trusts that sharing diverse narratives is the gateway to inviting humanity to the table. Nanda is foremost inspired by music, diasporic cultures, anthropology and performance.
The Boy Who Turned To Butter
About the author, Munira Tabassum Ahmed
Munira Tabassum Ahmed’s writing has been published in Best of Australian Poems, Pleiades, Meanjin, Australian Poetry Journal, Liminal, Cordite, and elsewhere. She was the 2022 Kat Muscat Fellow, a Youth Ambassador for Red Room Poetry, and a medalist at the 2024 National Youth Poetry Slam. She was a recipient of the 2024 WestWords Accelerator, 2023 Faber Writing Scholarship and the 2023 WestWords-Varuna Emerging Writers’ Residency. She is currently working on her first novel.
The Spaces Between
About the author, Brittany Jing Yao Xu
Brittany Xu is an aspiring writer and filmmaker based in Gadigal land. She holds a BA in Screen Production from AFTRS and her graduation short “Like How I Remember” was screened at multiple international and domestic film festivals. Her own personal upbringing as a Chinese Australian is reflected in her creative pursuits and continues to define the stories she wishes to tell.
Motelier
About the author, Sarah Forsyth
Sarah is a twenty-one year old in her final year of studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, with a major in Creative Writing. Her particular focuses include short fiction, screenwriting, and female-led narrative.
Suburbia Subject
About the author, Tharidi Walimunige
Tharidi Walimunige is a Melbourne-based writer with a passion for poetry, short fiction, screenplays and reviews. She is studying a Master of Publishing and Communications at The University of Melbourne. Tharidi has written and edited for publications including Voiceworks, n-SCRIBE and Farrago Magazine. In her free time, she likes to craft with macrame and watch animated films.
Ingat Sis
About the author, Carielyn Tunion-Lam
Carielyn Tunion-Lam / 林嘉蓮 is a writer, videopoet, educator, and cultural worker. She works across the arts, cultural and community sectors, and is interested in the intersections of creativity, cultural work, and community organising.
Lava's In The Air
About the author, Sheree Joseph
Sheree Joseph is an Arab-Australian writer from Sydney’s North West. She was the former editor of The Vocal, an award-nominated publication at Fairfax. She has written for the ABC, SBS, The Lifted Brow, The Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Life, Junkee, Overland and Metro Film Magazine. Sheree had her fictional debut in the Sweatshop Women: Volume Two anthology. She is currently working on her first book set to be published in 2026.
The Root's Trip
About the author, Ange Yang
Ange Yang is a Malaysian-Australian writer, essayist and storyteller based in Boorloo (Perth). She uses her appetite to explore questions around food and identity. She contributes to Broadsheet, SBS and has shared the joys, laughter and chaos that comes with growing up Asian-Australian in performances at Blue Room Theatre, Barefaced Stories and Centre for Stories. As a proud Malaysian-Australian, she is interested in how food reconnects individuals to their heritage, shapes people's identities and fosters a sense of community and belonging. She is a congee enthusiast. You can connect with her via Instagram @vegemitecongee
This is custom heading element
Lunar New Year in the Grampians
About the author, Wen-Juenn
Wen-Juenn Lee writes poetry on unceded Wurundjeri land. In her writing, she is interested in gaps, leaks and spillage. Her work has been published in Meanjin, Cordite Poetry Review, Going Down Swinging, among others. She was awarded the Tina Kane Emergent Writer Award, and is the Hyphenated Projects x Liminal Fellow for this year.
Tomorrow Never Came
About the author, Aksharaa Agarwal
Aksharaa Agarwal is a creative aspiring to bring her vision to life through the art of the screen. She published her first novella in 2016 and has since delved into many formats of written work including songwriting, poetry and plays. She currently chief edits a print-exclusive, student-centric film magazine she founded, alongside developing manuscripts and screenplays. She hopes to direct a project of her own soon.
Kinara Lane
About the author, Raveena Grover
Raveena Grover is a writer, photographer and creative director. She has had her words and visual work published in and exhibited for: Storycasters, SBS Voices, TimeOut Sydney, Kill Your Darlings, The Giant Dwarf, Folk Magazine, State Library of NSW, The Big Issue and Audrey Journal. She has curated and performed as part of Red Dot Revolt and Sydney Fringe. Raveena’s art focuses on creating and exploring the beauty, strength and realities of experiences of people of colour as Panjabi woman.
Salt Cure
About the author, Lauren Shallow
Lauren Shallow is a recent graduate of the University of Adelaide. She enjoys writing stories with a sense of mysticism and magic, like the books she enjoys herself, but tries to situate her own in Australia. 'Salt Cure' is the first story she has published.
Gathering Dust (and reading other people's journals)
About the author, Angelina Xu
Angelina Xu is a writer and editor of poetry and fiction. Her work focuses on queer culture, music, contemporary literature and language. She has been published in the Griffith Review
Pipis
About the author, Ch'aska Cuba de Reed
Ch'aska Cuba de Reed is an Australian-Peruvian writer living on unceded Gadigal land. She completed her Masters in Creative Writing at Trinity College, Dublin and is working on her first novel.
Striving For Neverland
About the author, Mabel Sward
Mabel Sward is an aspiring writer from Hobart, now based in Melbourne/Naarm, where she studies creative writing at the University of Melbourne. As an autistic creative, she uses her work to explore the complexities of everyday lives and relationships, aiming to question and analyse the structures that shape them. When she’s not writing, she’s usually playing puzzle games and binge-watching TV series.
Sad Face
About the author, Carolyn Huane
Carolyn is a fiction and poetry writer, comic artist and creative living in Melbourne. She was a co-editor of Farrago magazine and her work has been published in Voiceworks, Antithesis and Gems Zine. Carolyn also writes on lifestyle and arts for Time Out Melbourne. Her work explores the horror and comedy of the everyday.
That Place We Call Home
About the author, Thulasi Wigneswaran
Thulasi is a Sri Lankan-Tamil woman, born and raised by the people of Western Sydney. She is an emerging author finding herself reaching for the pen more and more these days.
Human Pillow
About the author, Faiza Bokhari
Faiza Bokhari was born in Australia, to Pakistani parents. She has a master’s in psychology and currently works as a UX researcher. Her short stories have appeared in Djed Press, Portside Review, Indian Review, and Burnt Roti Magazine, among others. She was shortlisted for the Stuart and Hadow Short Story Prize in 2018 and 2023. Currently, Faiza is an Early Career Fellow at the Centre for Stories.
Poetry Portfolio
About the author, Parth Rahatekar
Parth Rahatekar is a writer and poet from Pune, currently based in Melbourne. Most recently, they were a poetry fellow for The Queer Muslim Project and British Council’s ‘Language is a Queer Thing’. Their work has always attempted to create spaces of warmth and vibrancy by interrogating systems of violence, love and intergenerational healing. Recently, they have also started exploring themes of immigration and chronic illness through their lived experiences with them. Parth's poems have travelled to stages, galleries, and publications in India and the world—including the Kolkata Literary Meet, ISCP New York, Chennai Photo Biennale, The Brighton Centre of Contemporary Art, Vogue India, ASAP Art, and more. Their essays and writing have been published by Multicultural Arts Victoria, Fashion Journal Australia, Swaddle India, and Harper’s Bazaar India, amongst others. Their debut collection — Midnights, Parth's Version toured across venues in India and Melbourne. They are currently tinkering with revelations while pursuing a Master's in Writing and Publishing at RMIT.
Beyond The Screen: How Aid Dehumanises Suffering
About the author, Sarah Al-Baghdadi
Sarah is a 24-year-old Iraqi, shaped by a nation where the house library is not just a decoration, but a family member. She says, "the last thing my people sold when desperate for money was books—they sold them only after their own clothes." She has always found solace in words and libraries, and hope her work adds to it.
What is the prize?
In addition to a feature in the May issue of RUSSH and an author profile on RUSSH.com, the following prizes will be awarded:
Judges' Choice winner:
- Writers residency (location to be confirmed).
- RUSSH writers fellowship for remainder of 2025 , which includes at least $5,000 of paid writing commissions at RUSSH.
Readers' Choice winner:
- Mentorship with a published author and advocate.
Editor's Commendation winner:
- Mentorship with a published author and advocate.
Only one vote per person will be counted. By voting in our Literary Showcase Readers' Choice competition, you agree to be added to our mailing list. Further terms and conditions apply.
For more information on timelines, head to our entry and info page.
