My name is Zuva and I’m currently in year 12 completing VCE. I had the honour of competing in, and ultimately winning, the State Final of the Plain English Speaking Award earlier this year, with a speech that highlights my passion for youth activism and the collective power of our generation.

Lee is a 14 year old from Melbourne. They have been writing and creating from a young age and have a love of literature and the performing arts. They are very excited to be part of this event, Teen Gala, and look forward to exploring more ways to express themself and their ideas.

I am a 13 year old boy from the Macedon Ranges. I play soccer and guitar and love the Beach Boys. I can’t say I like poetry because I have read all the books and the poets, because I haven’t read any. But what I like is how it can appeal to anyone regardless of experience. I like to have fun with my poems, with rhymes, different language and new topics.

Eric is a year 9 student in Melbourne. He enjoys writing, is fond of listening to music, doing calligraphy, fashion, and shopping with his friends.

Sharon Zhang is a poet from Jiangsu, China, who writes confessional poetry about politics, identity, and art. A Melbourne native, their biggest inspirations are Gilles Deleuze, Max Stirner, and singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Outside of writing, they enjoy reading political theory, playing guitar, and listening to the Mountain Goats on CD. They are currently completing the International Baccalaureate at in Melbourne while working on their debut novel, The Post-Muse.

fig is a budding queer Melbourne poet with interests in art and classical literature. They spend their time looking after their rainbow lorikeet, alphie, and writing about funky little gay aliens. Most of their writing is freeform poetry but they also dabble in prose and enjoy reading horribly written doctor who fanfics as well as books like ‘the secret history’ and ‘still life with tornado’ which make them feel very clever and interesting. fig is nonbinary and hopes to contribute to the creation of spaces for writers like them who exist outside the binary. Some of their other interests include: hurtling through space on a giant rock, playing dress up, and using the oxford comma.