Upstarts
A dystopian drought or a solar-powered rave might be all the inspiration you need.
“There are more good readers and writers – and good reads – than there are opportunities with publishers to bring good writing to the market. Maybe that’s a market reality. I see it as an opportunity.”
Journeys to Words Publishing is the brainchild and passion project of mature-age masters student Jen Hutchison. “I’ve run a number of businesses, some small, some large. I have the financial and operational skills and now, after leaving most of my corporate work behind to spend time among readers and writers, I have found the courage to do this,” says Jen. Journeys to Words will combine the skills Jen has developed over the course of hern career (she has a background in print and broadcast journalism) and those she is honing in the RMIT Master of Writing and Publishing program. “The course is delivering the skills I was missing, the ‘how to’ and ‘what for’ and ‘when’ of publishing mechanics, how the industry ticks,” says Jen. The publishing house will aim to “sprinkle a few good reads into a crowded market.” With the tagline “The promise of a good read” Journeys to Words Publishing will launch itself and its first book in May 2019.
“We’re empowering people to be the change agents that our environment needs.”
How do you power a rave when the nearest source of energy is the sun? You could drag a petrol-fired generator out into the middle of nowhere. Or you could hook your sound system up to the sun – with solar panels. That is the idea behind Matteo Meirelles’ Solar Sounds, a solar power company that specialises in powering sound systems at parties, festivals and concerts. “We focus on creating engagement with young people, to help them start their journey on how they can work with renewable energy and the green thinking that goes with it,” says Matteo. The company started with a prototype that Matteo built after he went to a solar-powered party in Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens. Matteo says he “was blown away by the fact that these events can happen.” Now, the Melbourne-based business has collaborated with organisations like Yarra Youth Services and The Australian Youth Climate Coalition, and also hosts events at venues around the state.
“It may be crazy. It may just be a fleeting dream. We may never become professionals of the Marvel/DC ilk. But there are tomes of published work that reflect ideas, dreams and comments about popular culture.”
In his final year of art school, Jacob Pilkington began to see comic books as fine art. This ignited his passion and he created his first graphic novel, The Nightwatcher, a Batman-meets-Daredevil inspired tale about a hero who does terrible things and hides behind his status, with sprawling illustrations and a vertiginous perspective. Written and set in Melbourne, Nightwatcher got its start at local and interstate comic conventions. It was here that Jacob met Darren Kozial of Decay Comics and started producing commissioned work and gaining more experience in the industry. Now, once a month, Jacob and other like -minded comic book enthusiasts meet as part of the Melbourne Comic Book Creators. “On the first Saturday of the month we meet and look at each other’s comic books, supporting the long projects and talking about comics and comic movies,” says Jacob. “Some artists and writers are more successful than others; some are professionals. We form a tight-knit group that also supports local city comic book stores.”
“When we looked at all the pieces together, we ended up having an underlying theme of sick mothers and absent fathers. It’s cool to see that everyone comes from the same ideas.”
Pink Lemon founders Edward ‘Ted’ Brearly and Hamish Tobias are creating “a movement of culture” with their latest ambitious project, Amalgam. A mix of art, sound and literature, Amalgam involves 22 creatives and has been a year in the making. They are combining flash fiction and short stories into a comprehensive anthology, with each writer responding to the prompt of an alternative reality where a hypothetical nation suffers through a drought. From nomadic beach towns to a florist and his unrequited love, the stories follow seven different characters as they come to terms with the impact that drought has had on their lives. Each story is connected to the next by an all-encompassing cloud that sweeps across the landscape. Visual artists have interpreted the fiction pieces to create unique artworks, generating a cohesive exhibition and immersive experience. Pink Lemon has curated two collaborative art shows previously, and this type of interdisciplinary collaboration is fundamental to their process. The Amalgam exhibition and publication were launched at 0_Studio in Fitzroy on 12 October 2018.