Storytelling is our oldest artform.
Before borderlines were drawn and a millennia before pen ever met paper, humans told each other stories. A way to educate, inform, document and entertain, storytelling shaped our cultures and forged a pathway for human innovation.
Our global consciousness and history is documented in our stories, and our ever-developing culture is deeply dependent on these creative contributions. In our current moment, authentic and human storytelling has never been more important. It's why championing the work of writers – emerging and established – is essential for humanity to thrive. This is the driving force behind RUSSH's Literary Showcase, now in its second year.
Reprising their roles as Literary Showcase judges are author and narrative therapist Lamisse Hamouda, author and general manager of Sweatshop Literacy Winnie Dunn and RUSSH Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Jess Blanch. This year, they are joined by Elfy Scott, award-winning journalist and author of The One Thing We've Never Spoken About.
Ahead of the announcement of the 2025 Literary Showcase winners, we spoke with our judges about the Australian publishing landscape – from their favourite Australian books to the advice they pass onto their peers. Here, each of them shares their own experiences, and learnings for others who seek to write and be read.
Lamisse Hamouda
What was the last book you read?
One Day We Will Have All Been Against This by Omar El Akkad.
Which Australian book do you always recommend to people?
At the moment, I'm recommending Black Convicts by Santilla Changiape.
What’s your comfort book?
I don't have a comfort book but a comfort genre. And my comfort genre is poetry.
You’ve worked as a youth worker; you also teach writing workshops. What do you think are the challenges for young people who want to write?
The desire to be a good and successful writer – now. We tend to disproportionately celebrate 'young writers' and give this impression that you must break through while you're young or you'll never make it. We forget that many writers get their breaks later in their lives. Keep doing what you're doing: learning your craft, writing and living your life. You'll know when you're holding the seed that will turn into your book.
What advice would you give to other aspiring authors?
There was a quote on display in front of Karlskirche (Karl's Church) in Vienna when I lived there, and it kinda burnt itself into my mind: "culture is a highway, art is a forest path". The highway is made of content. My advice is to enter the forest.
Winnie Dunn
What book is next up on your list to read?
How to Dodge Flying Sandals and Other Advice for Life by Daniel Nour. A hilariously vulnerable and cleverly crafted unreliable ethnic memoir by a twice "closet-comer-outer" Egyptian-Australian Coptic writer and comedian. It is equal parts relatable, chaotic and sharp-witted. Don't miss an early release of Danny's book at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival event: "Fruits of the Loom".
Which Australian book do you always recommend to people?
Funny Ethnics by Shirley Le. It’s a stunning and surreal take on how diaspora, feminism and class plays out in the streets of Western Sydney and beyond. Shirley's writing expertly balances humour and heartbreak, making her novel an instant Aussie classic.
Do you have a book that you’ve read over and over again?
Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah. It’s one of those rare books that reshapes you with each read—lyrical, political and deeply human. A masterclass in storytelling, especially in these times of genocide.
What’s the most common advice you give to the writers you work with at Sweatshop?
Read, study, read again, then write—every day. As a starting point, I always recommend Bad Writer by Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad, a manifesto for cutting through the self-delusions of emerging writers, alongside his debut novel, The Tribe (which now has a stunning 10th-anniversary edition).
Reflecting on your journey to becoming a published author, is there anything you would have done differently?
The first few books I ever had my name on was as an editor. It was for various anthologies from The Big Black Thing to Sweatshop Women. Those early publications at Sweatshop Literacy Movement really built up my experience and career as a writer! I was (and still am) so lucky to work with the critically-acclaimed and award-winning writers featured: Evelyn Araluen, Amani Haydar, Shankari Chandran and Shirley Le.
I just wish I hadn’t serialised the books! It’s a struggle to explain to readers that despite the "Volume" or "Chapter" labels, each book stands firmly and fashionably on its own.
Elfy Scott
What are you reading right now?
I've got a few books on the go at the moment. I'm researching my second book currently, so I'm reading a handful of books about civil resistance. But in my downtime, I'm really enjoying The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I tend to neglect fiction and this has been a really fun read so far.
Which Australian book do you always recommend to people?
Anesthesia: The gift of oblivion and the mystery of consciousness by Kate Cole-Adams. An absolutely fascinating investigation into anesthesia and the many remaining questions about how it actually works. It's a masterful work of non-fiction and years after reading it I still catch myself reflecting with horror on some of the absolutely absurd facts and theories in it.
You trained as a journalist but also in psychology too. How do you feel this has shaped your creative writing?
A really interesting question! I think doing a science degree trained me in rigour basically and I try to apply that to my journalism work and my writing. It also forced me to read widely in the psychology and neurology space and discover many of scientists who are also brilliant writers.
What was the most difficult part of your journey to being a published author?
Truthfully, I think the biggest obstacles were in a total lack of confidence. I felt deeply anxious (and still do, to some extent) about being undeserving of taking up space with my writing, being wrong or telling other people's stories. The question "why me?" is one that I find haunting as an author who was reporting on complex and vulnerable stories in my first book. I had to get over that by placing the story far, far ahead of any questions about myself.
What do you wish more people know about the creative industries in Australia?
Simply, how brutal it is. I know so many wildly talented people who are scraping by on their creative careers and many go years without a win. The sheer brutality of it means that so many voices are filtered out of creative industries simply because they don't have the resources to keep trying.
Jess Blanch
What Australian books have you read recently? Which have been your favourites?
I follow The Stella Prize on Instagram and it is an incredible source of recommendations for Australian authors – and also a very significant initiative.
Recent reads of mine have included Black Witness: The Power of Indigenous Media by Amy McQuire, What the Wild Sea Can Be by Helen Scales and Chloe Dalton’s Raising Hare.
Black Witness I feel is an imperative read for anyone in the publishing industry in our current moment.
Which Australian book do you always recommend to people?
All of Melissa Lucashenko’s books, as she is a national treasure. Also, all of Geraldine Brooks' novels – and anything by Anna Funder.
Which book is your favourite to give as a gift?
At the moment I am gifting The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop. It is one of those great stories that you want to read in one sitting.
What do you see as some of the biggest barriers for Australian authors? What needs to change?
I recently read Grayson Carter’s memoir When The Going Was Good – what really struck me when he wrote of all the iconic writers and authors that contributed to Vanity Fair was the enormous resources they were afforded to research and experience.
The world is a different place now I understand. While I am an advocate for self publishing and platforms like substack, we must remember really significant works take time. I believe writers need to be afforded that time, and be supported by their publishers and our broader societal structures.
Having built an enduring and success publishing brand, what practical advice can you share for others looking to make writing a career?
It is certainly only for the brave.
But as for every day advice, for those who want to write and make it a career, my advice is simply to read.
