Introducing: Associate Producer Tegan Lyon

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Hi guys, I’m Tegan and I spend about a third of my week on the phone, listening to the above automatic message. As any creative writing graduate, professor or guest speaker will tell you, if you want to write, you are going to need that dreaded thing we call “a day job”.

While I don’t work in a call centre, I am the front office manager at Quest Apartments in Moonee Valley. Did I sell my soul for a somewhat corporate but mostly hospitality job? You bet your arse I did. A writer should starve emotionally, not literally.

When I’m not strapped to a desk wearing my best stern manager face, I’m back at home in South Morang (yes, we even have our own train line) writing film and television reviews for The Reel Word, or out enjoying the Melbourne arts and culture scene (read: eating and drinking myself into an early grave). I’m also a champion procrastinator — you should see how clean my room gets when I’m trying to write. Not really. My room, like my head, can be a mess sometimes.

This year I am blessed to join the wonderful team at SPN as an associate producer as we prepare for the tenth annual Independent Publishing Conference. I’m assisting SPN’s General Manager, Matthia Dempsey as we organise the 2016 Most Underrated Book Award. I encourage every writer, reader, publisher and book-enthusiast to clear their schedule from 9–12 November because it’s going to be a massive weekend here at SPN.

You can find me on twitter @TeganLyon where I mostly retweet Amy Schumer or Roxanne Gay. You can find me on Facebook where I typically resurface every three months with a sarcastic quip. Instagram is the devil’s work so you won’t find me on there.

Look forward to seeing you all at the conference!