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from the editor's desk

Our New Prose Editor: Julie Koh

Westerly is thrilled to announce the appointment of Julie Koh as Prose Editor. Julie takes on the role in our editorial lineup working alongside Lucy Dougan (Poetry Editor), Casey Mulder (First Nations Writing) and Cassandra Atherton (Commissioning Editor).

Julie will commence her work as Prose Editor with Issue 68.1 of Westerly (June/July this year). We welcome the excitement and freshness in perspective which she brings to the selection process!

Julie is the author of two short-story collections, Capital Misfits (Spineless Wonders, 2015) and Portable Curiosities (UQP, 2016). The latter was shortlisted for several literary awards and led to Julie being named a 2017 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. Her short stories have appeared widely, including in the Best Australian Stories and Best Australian Comedy Writing. Outside Australia, her fiction has been published in eight countries and translated into Chinese, Indonesian and Bengali. She has written radio plays for ABC Radio National and the libretto for the opera Chop Chef. Julie has also served as a judge for twelve literary prizes, including the 2018 Stella Prize and the 2022 University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award.

Dr Catherine Noske, Editor of Westerly, says of Julie’s appointment: “We are thrilled to have Julie joining our editorial panel, and excited by what she brings to the Magazine.”

The transition of external editors is standard within Westerly‘s publication, ensuring the selection of material for publication remains dynamic and unaffected by bias, reading de-identified submissions. Julie will be taking over the position of Prose Editor from Susan Midalia, who is stepping down after three years in this role. An experienced editor, mentor and writer, Susan has been a generous and dedicated presence in the Westerly team. Her contributions during this time have been significant, and whilst we are sad to see her depart, we are immensely grateful to her for the time she has given to Westerly. Susan will continue with her own writing, and we look forward to seeing where this takes her next!

We welcome Julie to her new role with great anticipation and look forward to her contribution to the editing process in 2023. We also thank Susan for her passion and commitment to Westerly over the last three years.

Photo credit: Hugh Stewart.

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