Bravewords

A new dad takes on the role of primary carer to follow his wife to Singapore for her career opportunities.
Toby’s childhood memoir ‘Two Mums & a Dad’ was published in 2021. The promotional rounds for that book included interviews on TV and radio, coverage in newspapers, and talks at writers festivals and libraries. A number of Toby’s short stories have been published in magazines, converted into podcasts and broadcast on radio. As part of his day job, Toby has written boring articles for journals, industry papers, and broadsheets.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

Just one suburban day decades ago, a 6 year old boy begins his journey towards being a dad!
Jeremy Gilroy is a TV editor and producer, a father of four, and a sporting tragic who lives in Avoca Beach on the NSW Central Coast.
Despite their limited education, Jeremy’s parents were both avid readers whose love language was language itself; playing with it, teaching it, and finding the right turn of phrase, especially to get a laugh.
As a kid, Jeremy loved writing stories, and went to uni to studyjournalism, but was distracted by film and television. Rob, through Bravewords, has given Jeremy the opportunity to fall back in love with writing. If you listen carefully to Jeremy’s story, about halfway through, you can hear his smart watch alerting him to go to emergency with a dangerousl elevated heart rate, which is to say Jeremy’s career spent in dark edit suites has not prepared him well for addressing a crowd.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

When Jay's gardener needed a favour, it changed her life.
Jay says that in regards to her age, she’s ‘abovethe upper age limit for just about everything.’ 
I live locally with my cat ‘The Gorgeous One’
I’ve lived in Australia for 40 years; emigratedfrom England but am an ex-South African
I’m a retired business-owner. Her work has been publishedin NSW Seniors’ Stories Anthology Volume 11.
I’m loving my renewed interest in writing thanks tothe lovely Adrienne.
Music courtesy of Sean Peter

What happens when a boy knows something to be true.
Chris Fleming is an award-winning Australian writer and translator and was recently shortlisted for the CalibreEssay Prize, the Island Nonfiction Prize, and the Peter Cowan Short Story Prize. His writing spans theory, journalism, fiction, and translation, and has appeared in venues including HEAT, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.He is the author or editor of ten books, including René Girard:Violence and Mimesis, Modern Conspiracy: The Importance of Being Paranoid, and the acclaimed memoir On Drugs (Giramondo 2019), which Phillip Lopate said, “rightly takes its place beside William Burroughs and De Quincey.” He is Associate Professor in Humanities at Western Sydney University and a member of the Writing and Society Research Centre.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

Amy Anshaw-Nye is a writer, zinester and essayist living in Western Sydney. Her works explore themes of love, transformation, madness, redemption, and queer identity.
She is a WestWords Academy alum and was a recipient of the 2023 WestWords-Varuna Emerging Writers’ Residency.
She is also founder of a zine press, where she publishes zines about life, pop culture, and queer love.
Amy’s has been published in BAD Western Sydney, ZineWest, and Verandah Journal.
She’s currently working on Ebb Tide, an historical sapphic romance novel set in 1960s Australia.
Music Courtesy of Sean Peter