UNSWeetened's abundance of campus voices

The UNSWeetened Coordinator explains how UNSWeetened opens the door to writers of all kinds.

Published on the 22 October 2026 by Madeline Kahl

Madeline Kahl

"This interview was written on unceded Bidjigal Country. To any Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading, I extend my love and gratitude to you, your custodianship, and your struggle for this land."

Annabella Luu
“Foreword,” DAZE 2026 Print Edition

As a media student, I stumbled upon the Arc publications in my first year and have been deeply entrenched ever since. Being a volunteer, colleague, and this year, an author for UNSWeetened, I have witnessed their growth firsthand.

I spoke with UNSWeetened Coordinator Annabella Luu about the publication's meteoric rise, how it grew from one print publication to three multi-channel publications in a year, and what the journal means to the team and the wider UNSW writing community.

So, what exactly is UNSWeetened?

UNSWeetened is UNSW’s literary publication that is run by student authors, editors and designers. We’ve been uplifting voices on campus for 26 years.

This year, we’ve trained a team of 18 editors and five senior editors who have provided individual feedback to over 90 authors and seen them through to publication.

We have also recruited four graphic designers and two illustrators responsible for the overall aesthetic of our online and print editions. We are an active literary community, sharing parts of each other to take out to the rest of the world and, in turn, nourish it.

This year, we’ve run writing workshops targeting both established and emergent writers. We’ve been in the Quad for Stress Less Week every term, writing poems on the spot to strangers, and frequently share writing prompts, opportunities and shoutouts in our Discord server.

We also collaborate with other writing collectives on campus, including English and Creative Writing Society, ADASoc, Blitz and Gamamari. We’ve also been fortunate to receive support from other organisations in Australia’s broader literary ecosystem, including Voiceworks, Southerly and the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

The team of authors from DAZE and DIGITAL DAZE: Chrishelle Puvinayagam, Zainab Yassine, Anna Xian, Duda Da Costa, Deena Ruby, Joy Paola, Olivia Ge, Harper Spits, Jessica Gough, Chalene Kuklin, Yonathan Budi, Emily Tran and Pieta Hochstetler. Liam Black

How did you discover UNSWeetened?

As with all good things, I first heard of UNSWeetened through my twin, Antoinette. I was in my first year of studies and nervous to be a part of something. I applied to be an editor for UNSWeetened in 2023, which was coordinated by my now-supervisor Thierry St. Quintin. Seeing an author's work grow and transform through three rounds of feedback was immensely rewarding, because you are witnessing someone learn how to articulate the inarticulable thing weighing on their mind.

"At the end of their term, Lychee said to me, 'if you're not applying for UNSWeetened co-ordinator, I’m shaking my fist like an old grandpa at the kids on the street.'"

At the end of their term, Lychee said to me, “if you're not applying for UNSWeetened co-ordinator, I’m shaking my fist like an old grandpa at the kids on the street.” Coming from a culture of humility, a mentor’s belief in you sticks for a long time. You hear their affirmations in your head even after your paths diverge: “You’re doing a good job”; “I trust your judgement”; “Keep going.”

I stayed on as an editor for the next two years for Warmth (coordinated by Lychee Lui in 2024) and Archive (coordinated by Juno Mander in 2025). It took me a while to muster up the courage and grow into my own, but I finally went for it.

UNSWeetened’s Senior Editors: Tara Chau, Jhaanavi Karunapalan, Elizabeth Poulos, Juliana Di-Cola and Kaitlin Lawrenson Liam Black

What's it been like digitising UNSWeetened and releasing it as an online journal?

"We were wonderfully overwhelmed by the volume of submissions coming through for our print journal. These authors offered bold, erudite work that negotiates exhaustion and radical compassion.

"We needed more space for these authors, and DIGITAL DAZE was our chance to create it."

Much of our authorship has migrated to digital platforms, even for those who do not consider themselves authors. We caption our lives beneath a carousel of images, plucked from a bloated album like beautiful weeds. We WhatsApp our family. Post 2am musings to Substack.

The problem is that these platforms fuel a reactionary culture while enforcing a very limited vocabulary for these reactions: story likes, emoji reactions and bite-size comments. These technocratic systems message that things exist to be liked or disliked, rather than questioned and understood. Many of our authors this year have written from a fraught position of witnessing. Of context mismatch.

In this mediated context, digital publication interrupts, challenges, and ultimately enlivens. We need space to exercise our rigid language. To bring back elasticity and porousness in our articulation.

UNSWeetened’s Design Team: Lauren Michelle van der Oord, Zoya Rathi, Mariam Aly, Cassandra Stafida and Alastair Ho. Liam Black

How has the team handled UNSWeetened's growth?

At the heart of this growth is our understanding that we do this work on unceded Indigenous land. So we have the responsibility to learn from First Nations’ stewardship. That is, caring for stories, land, and people with the understanding that we are cared by Indigenous custodianship first and foremost.I always think about Rob Waters’ provocation: “It’s as if we aren’t owned by the earth herself.”

As a publication, UNSWeetened is conscious of challenging the assumption that stories are to be owned or extracted from. In my editing experience, I’ve reminded many young authors that they don't have to mine and milk their own suffering for it to be taken seriously. Beyond the locus of pain, love can be found.

Although we’ve grown to three publications, our three-stage editing process remains rigorous. Editing often makes us seem like grammar police! That our role is correctional. In reality, our team is trained to privilege authors’ intentions and flesh out what they are unsure about.

We ask authors to pursue both vertical and horizontal inquiry. Also prioritising meeting with our authors so interactions aren't relegated to Word Doc comments. Our editors have grown in this space too: it's harder to articulate constructive feedback when the author is sitting in front of you.

"So how have we handled the growth? Diligently. Consciously. With increased visibility comes an increased awareness of our responsibility to maintain a safe space for our writers."

As for our designers, we’ve met weekly for the last seven months to develop and execute these publications' visual identities. In spite of, and because of, UNSWeetened’s growth, our duty of care towards the authors has grown. I attribute this to the team too, whom I recruited not only for their abundant talent, but for their ethical attunement to what it means to visually materialise another’s story.

This year, the design team took voluntary time out of their busy schedules to converse directly with our authors. To unpack their stories and exchange mood boards, drafts, and illustration ideas. I’ve always loved that digital publications are easily accessible, shareable, and in UNSWeetened’s case, free. The reading experience is also different to flipping physical pages. For RESTLESS and DIGITAL DAZE, the design team created online banners and tiles that brought the authors together into a cohesive whole.

What about your two launch days? What’s it like seeing all the volunteer efforts shown off?

Launch is such a festive time for UNSWeetened! It’s a dedicated space to approach authors, pick their brains, and maybe sneak in an autograph before they become too famous. Personally, my favourite part of UNSWeetened launch events is the readings.

There’s something different about reading a work on the page versus hearing and seeing it embodied by the author. It’s like walking through a home and having the host redirect your attention from the architecture to all the little tchotchkes they’ve collected. You feel the words from the person who curated them.

Back in May, we launched our online publication, RESTLESS, at Berkelouw Bookshop. Then, in September, we launched our print edition, DAZE, and celebrated our surprise online edition, DIGITAL DAZE, at UNSW Bookshop. This launch brought together UNSWeetened’s community and guests of honour, including judges Sukhmani Khorana, Roanna Gonsalves, Sonal Kamble (representing Voiceworks), Troy Wong and Rockie Marsden (representing UNSW Bookshop).

Local musician Kayzee was featured as our music act. Little Jerusalem provided delicious, generous catering. Our editors crafted decorations to hang across the bookshop. Others volunteered to bake some sweet treats, which we then used to fundraise for the Sydney Children’s Hospital via Arc’s program Phil’. That is, many hands were involved!

Gathering in one room also let me see the friendships UNSWeetened’s team have formed between themselves. I can’t take credit for the effort the volunteers have put into showing up for each other, but I smile slyly at the thought that they met through UNSWeetened.

UNSWeetened's physical edition, Daze. Liam Black

**What has UNSWeetened done for you personally?**

UNSWeetened has deepened my imperative to advocate for the arts because it has shown me that writers persist. That the craft itself can endure and innovate under pressure. And I've pursued this actively despite continual funding cuts and the unwanted infiltration of AI into our arts education. Personally, UNSWeetened has been my little cornerstone in Australia’s broader literary landscape, where I’m trying to build tenable conditions for early-career writers to take creative risks.

As they've followed through, they've helped me realise this is the work I want to do, in any capacity, going forward. It is incredibly fulfilling. Just as we have a responsibility to find role models in life, we also have a responsibility to be one when given the opportunity. We will never feel ready. I’ve learned to trust myself in this role, beyond the nerves and imposter syndrome, and lead with love.

UNSWeetened Social Impact Award Winner, Ibrahim Alwahwah, at the launch of DAZE. Liam Black

As for RESTLESS, DIGITAL DAZE, and DAZE (print), the writers have surprised me over and over. As Alice Walker says, a great writer, and by extension a great rebel, is “someone who goes to find where the silence is and tries to understand why the silence is there.” I am constantly astounded and inspired by our authors' willingness to write the discomforts we’ve come to inhabit.

It is hard. Painful, at times. But their stories have a special quality that makes our tiny lives feel incredibly expansive. Their depth of representation lets us readers on campus live with more levity. So, UNSWeetened has made me a better author, person and rebel.

What's next for UNSWeetened?

A new year brings a new coordinator, a new theme, and a new vision. I’d love to see us experiment even further with the affordances of digital publication, while retaining the much-loved annual print edition. Whoever takes up the mantle has my full, continued support! I have no doubt that UNSWeetened will keep doing what it does best. That is, open the door to all kinds of writers.

“In the floodlights of our fast-paced, amnesiac world, writing is a reprieve. Writing is praxis for remembering, empathy, and connection.”

Annabella Luu - “Foreword,” DAZE 2026 Print Edition

What the UNSWeetened team say

“How much being creative is being collaborative; having someone to brainstorm your ideas with, to see your vacantly written quirks as unique niches, to catch the mistakes even when they’re polished… Playing in that space of making stuff up, you kinda need other people to try and be daring.” – Yonathan (Editor)

"Seconding the collaborative creation, but from a design perspective, having others with unique styles and finding ways to let each personality shine and yet make the illustrations and spreads feel cohesive. Additionally, having others interact and give you feedback helps a lot with motivation." – Lauren (Illustrator)

“If you are interested in extending your creativity to an audience, there is so much more to consider with your work. You have to unshutter your eyelids and get a look at what’s going on, see how you can fine-tune your ideas to resonate.” – Elizabeth P. (Senior Editor)

“UNSWeetened has taught me that as a designer, you don’t exist in a vacuum. You pull inspiration from all sorts of places and working with the design team really cemented that. Our meeting rooms would be buzzing with energy as we bounced ideas off of each other and it is only because of our combined effort and diverse backgrounds that we got to where we did with Restless and Daze.” – Jasmine Trang (Senior Designer)

“UNSWeetened has reminded me that creativity comes from the small but astonishing moments that pass us every day. Exploring an unresolved experience from a new perspective, and being super receptive to feedback and revision, have both been transformative for my writing! From an editing perspective, learning about the visions of fellow creatives has taught me that craft and community cannot be separated.” – Sean (Editor)

"It’s taught me that while we might begin by writing for ourselves, publishing our work extends our writing to a wider community. It’s such a collaborative act! UNSWeetened is a direct counter-example to the myth that writers are solitary and that the best creativity comes from creating alone. Writers need community, and I’m so grateful UNSWeetened exists to provide that for all of us." – Joy Paola (Editor)

“Working with the UNSWeetened design team has taught me that creativity can be so much fun when you share it with like-minded people. Sure, creating on your own has its benefits, and it’s enjoyable. But there is something about when you’re bouncing off of the other people in the room, generating ideas, coming up with plans, that makes it feel even more exciting.” – Zoya (Junior Designer)

“Being in UNSWeetened taught me that creativity sometimes means being ridiculous, and that can be just as valid as any other writing” – Maya (Author)
“It’s given me an outlet for my creative juices, especially as someone’s who is doing a more tedious type-of degree (which I do love as well).” – Yonathan (Editor)

“My learning experience feels a lot more practical with the work I’ve done at UNSWeetened. Even though it’s still a university thing, it feels like I’ve pushed my work at least a little outside the classroom.” – Elizabeth P. (Senior Editor)

“UNSWeetened allowed me to lead a team for the first time! Working with creatives from diverse backgrounds, I got to contribute to a project that not only pushed what I thought I knew about publication design but also my interpersonal skills - learning how to communicate ideas with Arc and our authors.” – Jasmine Trang. (Senior Designer)

"UNSWeetened has allowed me to grow more confident in my design skills, pushing past my comfort zone to contribute to an interdisciplinary team and create a true sense of belonging. UNSWeetened 2026 has been absolutely amazing." – Lauren van der Oord (Illustrator)

“Coming from a social sciences degree, I don’t think I fully appreciated just how different disciplinary backgrounds can inform what we write. It’s been so cool to learn more about what inspires others to create!” – Sean (Editor)

"I agree with Sean—UNSWeetened brings people from all faculties together, that I would not have met otherwise in my classes! It’s really fun learning about people’s degrees and interests, and how that informs their creative work." – Joy Paola (Editor)

“It’s been so wonderful to be a part of something bigger than just my degree. Even though I major in design, this has never felt like just another university assignment. It’s given me a chance to really explore what goes into the design of a publication, and work with a team to bring together a shared vision, which I have loved every moment of.” – Zoya (Junior Designer)
“Bread.” – Yonathan (Editor)

“Why? Wouldn’t the oranges be afraid of the juicer?” – Joy (Editor)

Assorted design meeting quotes: – Jasmine Trang (Senior Designer)

“No sheep were shorn in the making.”
“More eyes have been uploaded.”
“We can window the window more.”
“Having a space to be brave and kind with my own words for other people. I do hope I’ve measured up on that end haha. Also being able to openly appreciate people and their thoughts is very fun.” – Yonathan (Editor)

“You get to see people working with what they love from what they’ve read before and introducing new ideas for the next generation of literature.” – Elizabeth P. (Senior Editor)

"UNSWeetened has unveiled a fantastic creative community. The feeling of support, the feeling of artistic inspiration and collective achievement- it's one of a kind." – Tara Chau (Senior Editor)

“UNSWeetened-ism. Being able to share your creative work and receive a diverse range of feedback, perhaps we will be the newest literary revolution.” – Lauren van der Oord (Illustrator)

“Being in UNSWeetened taught me that creativity sometimes means being ridiculous, and that can be just as valid as any other writing”. – Maya (Author)

“Our courage, our insight, and our care.” – Sean (Editor)

“I really love how thorough and careful my fellow editors are, and how we approach unfamiliar situations with open minds and curiosity.” – Joy Paola (Editor)

“How accepting and open everyone is, of thoughts, opinions, of ideas. The design team was so willing to work together and provide honest feedback to one another, and the authors have been a joy to work with, to be able to sit with them and bring their creative visions to life has been an honour.” – Zoya (Designer)

“My favourite thing about the UNSWeetened community is how viciously talented everyone is, and how supportive they are. I’ve worked with multiple different editors and read other authors’ work and am constantly astounded by the intelligence and creativity of everyone. It really does make me a better writer, too:) ” – Deena (Author)