WRITING

​I’m an essayist, critic and commentator interested in identity (race, queerness and migration), screen and pop culture, technology’s impacts on the self and society, the creative industries, mental health, linguistics (English, Spanish and Tagalog), critical theory, and the intersections between these areas.

I also write poetry—mostly about love, desire, language and distance—and I previously penned bite-size ramen reviews via my (now-dormant) Instagram hashtag #ratetheramen.

My work has been published widely in Australia and abroad, including in Meanjin, Right Now, Screen Education, Kill Your Darlings, The Big Issue, Cordite, wildness and The Manila Review, among others. I have also contributed as interviewee to pieces for The Age, SBS, Books+Publishing, ArtsHub, and various radio stations and podcasts.
 

Image: Meanjin vol. 78, no. 1 (read my cover essay here)

Publication highlights

​More information and hyperlinks via the full list of publication credits further down.

Amos Gebhardt: Small Acts of Resistance (Samstag Museum)

Screen Education no. 94

Right Now, 2017

Growing Up Queer in Australia (Black Inc.)

Cordite #88

Kill Your Darlings, 2025

Margaret & David: 5 Stars (Wakefield Press)

The Manila Review vol. 1, no. 5

2025

• ‘Careening’, Island
• ‘Murder of the Dancefloor’, Kill Your Darlings
• ‘Screens — Journey Home, David Gulpilil; Resurrection; A Useful Ghost; and more (Special MIFF 2025 Edition)’, Liminal
• Various film synopses (including Dreams, Drunken Noodles, Lost Chapters, Lurker, Mistress Dispeller and The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo), Melbourne International Film Festival

2024

• ‘Platforming for Community: Going Beyond Surface Representation’, The Relationship Is the Project (second edition)

• Various film synopses (including Audrey, Inside, Left Write Hook and Memoir of a Snail), Melbourne International Film Festival

​2023

• ‘Amos Gebhardt: Small Acts of Resistance’, Outside the Frame: Art and the Moving Image
• ‘Screens — Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, Tiger Stripes, No Bears and more (Special MIFF 2023 Edition)’, Liminal
• Various film synopses (including Australia’s Open, The Rooster, Shayda and This Is Going to Be Big), Melbourne International Film Festival
• ‘No Turning Back: Temporality, Displacement and Desire in Goran Stolevski’s Of an Age’, Metro ​
  

​2022

• Various film synopses (including Franklin, Petrol, Sweet As and Under Cover), Melbourne International Film Festival
• ​‘Pack of Lies: Masquerades of Masculinity in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog’, Metro
• Flee review, The Big Issue​

​
2021

• ‘A Conversation with Tony Ayres’, Liminal
• ‘Alone on the Borderline’, The Victorian Writer
• The Unusual Suspects review, The Big Issue
• Various film synopses (including Ablaze, Hating Peter Tatchell, Little Tornadoes and Paper City), Melbourne International Film Festival
• Scattered (38 x 60-second episodes, co-writer), TikTok, Screen Australia & Film Victoria 
• ‘Wading in Chest-Deep: Broede Carmody’s Flat Exit’, Australian Poetry Journal
• ‘Moving Targets: Snapshots of Representation’, Metro
• ‘Screens #6 — Long Day’s Journey into Night, Shoplifters, Bulbbul’, Liminal

​​2020​

• ​Monsoon review, The Big Issue
• ‘“The Show Must Go On”: Transgression and the Carnivalesque in Moulin Rouge!’, Metro
• ‘Infectious Scrolling: Social Media, Mental Health and COVID-19’, Metro
• Kajillionaire review, The Big Issue
• Small Acts of Resistance catalogue essay, Samstag Museum of Art
• Baby Done review, The Big Issue
• ‘2020 Vision and Optical Illusions’, Meanjin
• ‘Screens #5 — Sisterakas, Sid & Aya, Howl’s Moving Castle’, Liminal
• ‘All-Access Pass?: Film Festivals Go Viral’, Metro
• The Devil All the Time pitch pack, Netflix
• ‘Screens #4 — Uncle Boonmee, The Act of Killing, Dear Ex’, Liminal
• ‘Screens #3 — No Hard Feelings, Suk Suk, Wet Season (Special MIFF 68½ Edition)’, Liminal
• Various film synopses (including Black Bear, Born to Be, Ema and Mogul Mowgli), Melbourne International Film Festival
• ‘Screens #2 — Loev, Wadjda, Yellow Is Forbidden’, Liminal
• ‘Laws of Motion: Vertigo and Virtual Performance’, MOD. Museum
• ‘Against Gay Conversion Therapy: Loving the “Sinner”’, Archer​
• ‘Screens #1 — Beastars, Parasite, The Kingmaker’, Liminal
• ‘Platforming for Community: Going Beyond Surface Representation’, The Relationship Is the Project ​(first edition)

​​2019

• ‘Beyond Shared Trauma: The Identity Crisis – Forging a Path Forward’, The Australian Rationalist
• ‘Coming Out, Coming Home’, Growing Up Queer in Australia​
• ‘Sitting in the Movement’, The Lifted Brow
• ‘Change of Heart: Boy Erased, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Gay Conversion Therapy’, Screen Education​
• ‘A Fetching Achievement’, Metro
• ‘Rough-rider’, wildness
• ‘A Conversation with Benjamin Law’, Liminal
• ‘Quest and Queerness: Role-Playing Identity’, Meanjin

2018

• ‘Monstrous Motherhood: Summoning the Abject in The Babadook’, Screen Education

• ‘Mind’s Eye: Re-envisioning Mental Health in the Arts’, The Other Film Festival
• ‘ETA’, Cordite Poetry Review
• ‘Tickled Pink: Thailand Tourism Comes Out’, Archer
• ‘A Conversation with Alan Weedon’, Liminal
• ‘Adventures in Genre Down Under’, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
• ‘Here’, Scum
• ‘A Conversation with Mama Alto’, Liminal
• ‘Canon Fodder: The Polemics of Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’, Meanjin
• ‘Solstice 2’, Milk Crates
• ‘Pride in Programming: 25 Years of the Mardi Gras Film Festival’, ABC Mardi Gras 40th Anniversary Magazine

2017

• ​‘Growing Up Queer: A Filipino Perspective’, Dumbo Feather
• ‘A Conversation with Yumi Umiumare’, Liminal
• ‘Confronting Images: Suicide, Rape Culture and Responsibility in 13 Reasons Why’, Screen Education​
• ‘In the Spotlight’, Midsumma Festival
• ‘Motion’, Cordite Poetry Review
• ‘Critical Opinion Is Critical’, Margaret and David: 5 Stars 
• ‘A Conversation with Raina Peterson’, Liminal
• ‘Love in Time: Confronting Queerness in Call Me by Your Name’, Meanjin

• ‘A Conversation with Elizabeth Flux’, Liminal
• ‘Death of the Editor’, Overland
• ‘The Abstraction of Privilege’, Right Now​
• ‘“I’m a Badass Hunky Dude”: Gender, Hegemony and She’s the Man’, Screen Education
• ‘Confession’, The Suburban Review
• ‘A Conversation with Bobuq Sayed’, Liminal
• ‘Terrain’, ‘Slingshot’ and ‘Turbulence’, Peril
• ‘Container’, Mascara Literary Review 
• ‘Fingerprint’ (republished), Liminal 
• ‘Confessions of a Privileged Minority’, Right Now

2016

• ​‘Queering the Airwaves for TV Diversity’, Eureka Street
• ‘Straight Talk about Toxic Homonormativity’, Right Now
• ‘Reimagining Manhood after ABC’s Man Up’, Eureka Street
• ‘Populism, Trump and the Perils of “Dutertopia”’, Right Now
• ‘Combating the Selfishness of Freedom of Expression’, Right Now
• ‘Oppression Olympics: A Game Nobody Wins’, Right Now
• ‘Discriminating Differently’, Right Now
• ‘Increasing Mental Health Visibility’, Right Now
• ‘Matters of Consequence: Growing Up with The Little Prince’, Screen Education
• ​‘Fingerprint’, ‘Constellations’ and ‘Journey’, Plaything
• ‘Setting Change in Motion (Pictures)’, Right Now
• ‘Beyond “Colourblindness” and Racebending’, Right Now
• ‘1035’, Scum

2015

• ​‘Power from a Different Perspective: Race, Gender and Grief in Big Hero 6’, Screen Education​
• ‘Adolfo Aranjuez Recommends Loving Absolutely and without Fear’, The Lifted Brow
• ‘Walking through the Fire: For Kat Muscat’, Writers Victoria (republished by The Wheeler Centre and Express Media)
• ‘The Legend of Korra and Minority Representation’, Screen Education
• ‘Editorially Speaking’, Melbourne Writers Festival​

2014

• ‘A Different Shade of Evil: Questions of Ethics in Maleficent’, Screen Education

• ‘In the Claws of the City: Manila in Film’, The Manila Review
• ‘Museums without Walls: Safeguarding Our Heritage’, Simpublica​
• Amadeo: Changing Latitudes, from ‘The Third Space’ series of novellas, Garratt Publishing

• ‘You’re “Literally” a Grammar Nazi’, Going Down Swinging​

2013

• ‘Surface to Air vs Sea Hearts’, Meanjin
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2013
• ‘Internet Killed the Editing Star’, Virgule
• ‘Does This Make Sense?’, Virgule​
• ‘Know Your Roots’, Virgule
• ‘Win, Win, Nudge, Nudge: Why Enter Writing Competitions’, The Emerging Writer
• ​‘Compounded’, Virgule
• Translation and commentary, ‘Three Stories in the Life of Julian Candelabra’ (by Lualhati Bautista), The Lifted Brow
• ‘The Write and Wrong Words’, Virgule
• ‘Apostrophilia’, Virgule​​

2012

• ‘“That” versus “Which” (a.k.a. Microsoft Word Keeps Adding Squiggly Green Lines)’, Virgule
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2012
• ‘Month of Reading’, The Victorian Writer
• ‘The Seduction of the Intellect: On Truth and Poeisis’, Metre Maids
• ‘The Editor Wears Prada’, Virgule
• ‘Solstice’, Geek Mook​

2011

• ​‘Latitudes’, Voiceworks
• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2011
• ‘On Writing and Competitions’, Meanjin
• ‘Pyrolysis’, Hands Like Mirrors
• ​‘Splinter’, Velour Poetry Zine
• ‘Off the Mill’, Voiceworks
• ‘To A.A.B., one year later’, Apple Cart Zine

2010

• ‘Introduction’, Award Winning Australian Writing 2010
• ‘Soldier(ing)’, Voiceworks
• ‘Reading Space’, Virgule
• ‘Josephine’, Love, Loss & Intimacy
• ‘How Exquisite (Corpse)!’, Virgule

2009

• ‘Panopticon 2.0’, Voiceworks

• ‘Dumpster Diving’, Youth Central
• ‘I Dress, Therefore I am’, Voiceworks
• ‘Of Catwalks and Copycats’, Voiceworks
• ‘Op-Shopping: A Rough Guide’, Youth Central ​​

2008

• ​‘A T-Shirt Named Desire’, Voiceworks
• ‘Centre Upgrade to Open’, Hobsons Bay Leader
• ‘What is This Financial Crisis Thing All About?’, Youth Central 
• ‘Power is the New Black’, Voiceworks
• ‘Boy-girls and Girl-boys’, Voiceworks
• ‘Explode’, Vibewire
• ‘The Op-Shop Pandemic’, Vibewire 
• ‘Wooden-soled Boots and a Mustard-Yellow, Sausage-Shaped Train’, Vibewire

Image: The Body Country book launch, 2023

Interviews & media coverage

• ‘Adolfo Aranjuez on Subjectivity in Creative Non-Fiction and How He’d Edit Your Work’, Writers Victoria (February 2026)
  
• ‘Adolfo Aranjuez on Self-Editing, Final Versions and Doubt’, Writers Victoria (July 2025)
• ‘What I Wish I’d Known About: Editing’, Kill Your Darlings (March 2025)
• ‘In Conversation with BOTY Winning Editors Leah Jing McIntosh and Adolfo Aranjuez’, Small Press Network (January 2024)
• ​‘Scattered and LGBTQIA+ Screen Representation’, Rainbow History Class (July 2021)
• ‘More to TikTok than Viral Dance Trends – and These Aussies Are Proving It’, The Age (June 2021)
• ​‘We Die in Disproportionate Numbers: Disabled People on Disasters’, The Age (March 2021)
• ‘“I Have Three Cultures”: How Young Multicultural Australians Are Finding Their Identity’, The Feed, SBS (February 2021) 
• ‘My Top Five Films: Adolfo Aranjuez’ ▶︎, Evenings, ABC Radio Melbourne (November 2020)
• ‘Book Week: Adolfo Aranjuez’, Victoria Together (October 2020)
• ‘What We’re Reading’, The Age (August 2020)
• ‘Meet Adolfo Aranjuez’, Melbourne Writers Festival (July 2020)
• ​‘Sensitive Subjects: The Value of Sensitivity Reading’, Books+Publishing (July 2020)​​​​
• ‘Spamsilog: Adolfo Aranjuez’, Whatever Floats Your Bloat (April 2020)

• ‘Racism, Sloppy Journalism or Both?’, ABC News (September 2019)​​​​
• ​‘Writer of the Week’, Maudlin House (June 2019)
• ‘Interview with Adolfo Aranjuez’ ▶︎, The Gays Are Revolting (May 2019)
• ‘My Feed’ ▶︎, RN Drive, ABC Radio National (April 2019)​
• ​Thursday Breakfast ▶︎, 3CR (April 2019)
• ​All Things Queer, RTRFM (March 2019)​​
• ​​‘Secret Sex Lives of Gen Z’, ABC News (January 2019)
• The Glasshouse, Triple R, episode 5636 (December 2018)
• ​​​​‘The 25 Greatest Australian Films of the 21st Century’, Flicks.com.au (July 2018)
• ‘Why We Need Sensitivity, Generosity and Kindness in the Arts’, ArtsHub (July 2018)
• ‘Queer Elders & Performing in Heels’ ▶︎, Agenda, FBi Radio, episode 72 (June 2018)​
• ‘We Spoke to Emerging Writers About Their Queer Icons’, SBS Sexuality (June 2018)
• ‘Call Me Ange: Language and Queerness’ ▶︎, All the Best, FBi Radio, episode 1805 (March 2018)​
• ‘Queer and Always Queering: The Resilience of LGBTIQ+ Filipino-Australians’, Peril (August 2017)​​

See Older Interviews & press

• ​‘International Students Share the Highs and Lows of Australian Life’, ABC News (August 2017)
• ​‘Late Night Lit: Collisions’, Emerging Writers’ Festival (June 2017)
• ‘Should I Write a Book?', Writers Bloc (June 2017)
• ‘Dance Helps Tell Story’, Maribyrnong Leader (May 2017)
• ‘Translating Writing for Performance’, Emerging Writers’ Festival (May 2017)
• ‘Six People on What They’d Tell Their Younger Selves about Mental Health’, The Cusp (May 2017)​
• ‘A Conversation with Adolfo Aranjuez’, Liminal (April 2017)​
• ‘Ascension Matters: Diversity Is…’, Ascension (March 2017)
• ‘A Pocket Guide to the Melbourne Writers Festival’, Urban Walkabout (August 2016)
• ‘Adolfo Aranjuez: I Want to Know What Love Is’, Emerging Writers’ Festival (June 2016)
• ​‘People of Colour and Sexuality (roundtable)’, Plaything (December 2015)
• ‘The GOFFMothers of 2015’, Girls On Film Festival (October 2015)
• ‘Filipino-Australian, a Leading Storyteller in Victoria ▶︎’, SBS Radio (August 2015)
• ‘30 Under 30: Meet Melbourne’s Next Generation of Writers’, The Age (April 2015)
• ‘Voix Interview: Adolfo Aranjuez’ ▶︎, Virgule (January 2014)
• Voiceworks editors interview, Aural Text, 3RRR (February 2009)