Publication Date: Mar 2023
RRP: $29.99
ISBN: 9781922633750
Format: Paperback
Size: 153mm x 234mm
Pages: 128
Category: Verge - Creative Writing

Verge 2023

Defiant

Edited by Samuel Bernard, Thomas Rock and Vera Yingzhi Gu 

Also available as an ebook from your favourite retailer.


‘These are spirited, diverse and most welcome notes of defiance.’ Peter Rose

Verge 2023 is properly defiant, in its will to bring you superb new writing, in the face of the cataclysms of our time, defiant against fear and anguish. The words between these covers are unflinching, crisp, imaginative.’ Ali Alizadeh


New Australian writing from emerging and established writers

The thirty-one stories and poems in this collection explore our defiant acts: the small, everyday moments of revolt to life-changing actions in possible futures and imagined pasts. From the unbridled ambition of a scientist to the assassination of a king, and traversing themes including the anthropogenic impact on climate change and the intersectional nature of identity, this scintillating collection takes us into the moral quandaries, ambitions and desires of those in places near and far.

Crackling with energy and originality, these pieces are united by a singular intent: to defy the expected, whether in form, subject or content. They reveal the best of Australian writing today.

Featuring contributors including Carmel Bird, Sofia Chapman, Elena Disilvestro, Warwick Sprawson, Cameron Semmens, Arwen Verdnik, Ashleigh K. Rose, Paris Rosemont, Jane Downing and Koraly Dimitriadis.


Read Peter Rose’s launch speech


Samuel Bernard

Samuel Bernard is a freelance writer, critic and editor. He writes for The Weekend Australian’s ‘Notable Books’ column, as well as features and criticism for Good Reading Magazine. He has a Master of Writing and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at...
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Thomas Rock

Thomas Rock is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at Monash University. His thesis examines optimism in contemporary Australian young-adult science-fiction. He works in a primary school library in regional Victoria.
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Vera Yingzhi Gu 

Vera Yingzhi Gu has a PhD in Translation Studies and is an interpreting instructor in the Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies at Monash University. Vera has a strong research interest in translation and interpreting pedagogy. She is a professional translator...
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