We're between the lines, helping our writing industry thrive

Our People

Will Yeoman

Will Yeoman

CEO

Email [email protected]

Will Yeoman was Literary Editor at The West Australian before moving into arts and travel; he remains a music critic for Limelight and Gramophone magazines. Will is Artistic Director of York Writers Festival and York Festival. Previously he was Artistic Director of New Norcia Writers Festival and Perth Festival Writers Week. A lover of literature (and comics!) from an early age, Will is also a keen classical guitarist who enjoys collaborating on spoken word and music performances with writers and poets including Stephen Scourfield and John Kinsella.

Shannon Britza

Shannon Britza

Operations Manager

Email [email protected]

Shannon Britza is a Life Member and former CEO of the KSP Writers’ Centre, member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and certified book-keeper. She has a bachelor's degree in Professional Writing and Publishing. In a former life, Shannon was a second-hand bookseller and entrepreneur, launching her own bedroom library at the age of nine. As a short fiction author, Shannon has won the ECU Talus Prize and been published in many Australian anthologies and journals.

Jess Checkland

Jess Checkland

Marketing and Communications Officer

Email [email protected]

Jess Checkland is a marketing professional specialising in event organisation, marketing and communications, social media, and publicity. With a strong passion for books, Jess has worked extensively in the publishing industry. Her recent roles include Events Marketing Assistant at Fremantle Press, bookseller at Dymocks Morley & Joondalup, volunteer at Peter Cowan Writers Centre and Fremantle Press, writer for Junkee Media, subeditor of Literature and Film at Dircksey Magazine, and intern at Westerly Magazine. In 2016, she received an Excellence Scholarship from Edith Cowan University and subsequently graduated with a BA in Writing.

Melinda Tognini

Melinda Tognini

Digital Communications

Email info[at]writingwa.org

Melinda Tognini has more than 20 years’ experience in teaching, mentoring and facilitating workshops for writers of all ages and levels. Melinda’s feature articles, travel writing, and personal essays have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Australia and the US. Her book, Many Hearts, One Voice: the story of the War Widows’ Guild in Western Australia was published in 2015.
When she’s not adding events and writing opportunities to Writing WA’s website, she can be found working on various writing projects, including an historical fiction for younger readers, mentoring young people through charity 12 Buckets, or being a taxi driver for her two teenage children.

Laurie Steed

Laurie Steed

Partnerships and Development Manager

Email [email protected]

Laurie Steed is an author, editor, and arts industry advocate with more than twenty years' experience in the literary sector. Laurie's professional history includes roles on The Emerging Writers Festival Advisory Board, Creative Australia's Panel of Peer Assessors, The Australian Short Story Festival Advisory Board, and in communications and contract roles for The Small Press Network, The Centre for Stories, Writers Victoria, and The Queensland Writers' Centre.

His debut novel, You Belong Here, was published in 2018 and shortlisted for the 2018 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards. His memoir, Love, Dad, is due to be published by Fremantle Press in August 2023, and his third book, Greater City Shadows, is due to be published by UWA Publishing in 2024.

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