Iconic Duos: The Power of Creative Mentorships

Creating new artistic work takes bravery, creativity, and talent; but it also takes time, space, and financial freedom. However diverse their circumstances, all emerging writers and artists share one common need: support.
The Next Chapter writers’ scheme and Signal Boost podcasting mentorship programme aim to provide emerging writers and podcasters with just that. Presented annually by the Wheeler Centre, they’re dedicated to uncovering and nurturing a new generation of writers and podcasters by giving them time and space to craft a voice and a career.
Every year, ten writers and ten podcasters are chosen from across Australia, given financial support and access to professional development opportunities, and are each matched with a dedicated mentor. Through these mentorships, tomorrow’s outstanding emerging voices are steered and supported by today’s storytelling icons.
Join Next Chapter recipient Mia Nie, her mentor Sarah Howell, Signal Boost participant Cherie Minniecon, and her mentor Timmah Ball, as they discuss the varied forms support for emerging writers and podcasters can take, and the unique qualities of mentorships. Hosted by Veronica Sullivan.
Presented in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival
Featuring

Mia Nie is a Chinese-Australian comic artist, zine-maker, and award-nominated ex-poet. She has been published in Pencilled In, The Suburban Review, Comic Sans Journal, Strange Horizons, and Castles in the Sky. Her work explores the complexities, contradictions, and deeply felt desires of transgender... Read more

Sarah Howell makes comics, teaches comics and develops projects that advocate for her artform. Projects like: Homecooked Comics Festival and Squishface Comic Studio, a co-share workspace for cartoonists and illustrators.

Timmah Ball is a nonfiction writer, researcher and creative practitioner of Ballardong Noongar heritage. In 2018 she co-created Wild Tongue Zine for Next Wave Festival with Azja Kulpinska which interrogated labor inequality in the arts industry. In 2016 she won the Westerly magazine Patricia Hackett... Read more

Cherie Minniecon is a proud Yorta Yorta woman based in naarm with her hubby and two daughters. Cherie is a social worker, educator and futures strategist. She is passionate about the exploration of the narratives we tell ourselves about the future and how it impacts on our sense of agency and abilit... Read more

Veronica Sullivan is the Wheeler Centre’s Head of Programming. She is a board member of Overland literary journal and a member of the Custodial Committee of the Kat Muscat Fellowship. Previously, she was a board member and Program Manager of the Feminist Writers Festival, Prize Manager of the Stel... Read more
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