Beyond the Mainstream

Will Cox is a lutruwita-born, Naarm-based writer and critic. His short fiction has appeared in various journals, and his novella Hyacinth came out in early 2023 to acclaim. He’s a regular arts writer for The Age and he can be heard on RRR’s Primal Screen.

Quinton Li (they/them) is an award-winning non-binary author of spiritual, queer, and evocative narratives that represent underrepresented identities. They are the author of Tell Me How It Ends, and Chrysalis and Requiem, and the editor and curator of Devout: An Anthology of Angels. Their poetry can be found with Panorame Press, Messy Misfits Club and Iris Youth Magazine.

daniel ward is a poet and musician. they are the editor of ‘no more poetry’, an independent publisher of poetry books and art magazines. their second and most recent poetry collection is titled ‘eternal delight paralysis’.

Margarita Bassova is an emerging sound artist, writer, and head of the music-arts-culture publication Verve Zine.

Margarita’s writing is primarily rooted in music journalism, having written for international and local publications from Resident Advisor to Ransom Note, long-form pieces on Earmilk, Headthreads and beyond. In 2023 she was awarded Creative Australia’s Music Writers’ Travel Bursary to write about Australian music talent overseas, allowing her to document festivals in Singapore and Bali.

In 2022, Margarita released Verve’s first print edition, showcasing world-class local talent and with an accompanying “thoughts” zine.