A chance encounter with a sea lion changed writer Laura Jean McKay’s world view. Photo by Samuel Scrimshaw on Unsplash.
‘Human breath is about all we’ll be left with if we’re not careful. Why not try to breath alongside others? Why not try to make the stories that matter?’ asked keynote speaker Laura Jean McKay in a keynote at this year’s Small Press Network’s Independent Publishing Conference.
McKay is the author of a prize-winning novel, The Animals in That Country, that canvasses a virus with the uncanny ability for humans and animals to communicate with one another. To illustrate the importance of other species, McKay opened her address with a list of all the animals she has seen recently (about 100 birds and 1000 insects) and a request for viewers to think about a significant animal encounter they’ve had themselves.
Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian.
Her debut, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, came out in 2020 and was released by University of Western Australia Publishing (UWAP). Her second collection, Decadence, was published in July 2022, also by UWAP. Her third book, Essence, will be published in 2025.
Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy
