by Liminal
Pantera Press
In this collection of new essays from the Liminal & Pantera Press Nonfiction Prize longlist, First Nations writers and writers of colour bend and shift boundaries, query the past and envision new futures. They ask: How do we write or hold our former selves, our ancestries? How does where we come from connect to where we are headed? How do we tell the stories of those who have been diminished or ignored in the writing of history? How do we do justice to the lives they lived, or to the people they were?
From the intricacies of trans becoming, to violences inflicted on stateless peoples, to complex inheritances and the intertwining of tradition, politics and place, this prescient collection challenges singular narratives about the past, offering testimony and prophecy alike.
ESSAYS BY André Dao, Barry Corr, Brandon K. Liew, Elizabeth Flux, Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun, grace ugamay dulawan, Hannah Wu, Hasib Hourani, Hassan Abul, Jon Tjhia, Kasumi Bocrzyk, Lucia Tường Vy Nguyễn, Lou Garcia-Dolnik, Lur Alghurabi, Mykaela Saunders, Ouyang Yu, Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh, Ryan Gustafsson, Suneeta Peres da Costa and Veronica Gorrie.
Judges' Report
Against Disappearance: Essays on Memory (Pantera Press) is exactly the kind of invigorating non-fiction that small, risk-taking publications like Liminal, excel at. It is a physically beautiful collection, presented with an understated sophistication that reflects those same qualities in the works. Edited by Leah Jing McIntosh and Adolofo Aranjuez, this collection brings together writers from across a variety of disciplines and thought, that reveals its themes of identity, love, family, home in fragments, traversing intellect and object, a tapestry that is felt as much as read. It is exceptional to read, and exciting to imagine a future of Australian publishing inspired by works such as this one.
About the author
Founded in late 2016, Liminal is an anti-racist literary platform that supports and elevates talented writers and artists in so-called Australia. Liminal showcases creatives from a wide range of disciplines—literature, art, music, journalism and more. Working towards a more equitable arts sector, Liminal is made by a dedicated team located around the continent.
Leah Jing McIntosh is a critic, researcher and the founding editor of Liminal. Through the Liminal project, she has published an extensive collection of longform interviews and award-winning writing and art by Asian Australian artists. Working towards and advocating for a more equitable arts sector, she has produced community events, established national literary prizes, and created mentorships, residencies and workshops for racialised artists. In 2020, she co-edited the critically acclaimed fiction anthology Collisions (Pantera Press). She has a Master’s degree in English Literature from University College London, and is currently completing her doctoral research at the University of Melbourne.
Adolfo Aranjuez is an editor, writer, speaker and dancer, and a member of
Liminal’s editorial team since its inception. He has worked across periodical and book publishing for fifteen years, with past tenures as editor-in-chief of film/media journal
Metro and LGBTQIA+ magazine
Archer, and his essays, criticism and poetry have been published widely, including in
Meanjin, Right Now, Screen Education, The Manila Review and
Cordite. As an independent practitioner, he has performed movement and spoken word, hosted and appeared on panels, run workshops, judged literary prizes, and acted as advisor for a range of festivals, government, community and cultural organisations. Find out more:
adolfoaranjuez.com
