A word from our outgoing editor.

I have news. I am stepping down as the Editor of Writers Bloc. Tragedy for me, yes, but excellent news for letters.

When I started steering this ship all those years ago, my worldview was from the '50s, but deep down I was just a crazy kid with a dream – to guide this wordy ol’ boat through the wild-west fever dream of internet.

I’ll make this quick, but I would like to thank, from whatever sincerity I have left after several years spent on twitter.com, all our readers, and most of all, our writers.

There’s real joy in working with a writer to refine a piece, in sharing GOLD STANDARD content which y’all enjoy. I will miss the special kind of excitement when a really great idea pings into the inbox, one that’s barely offset by the endless credit card phishing.

It’s been a most outstanding privilege to work alongside my Deputy Editor Raphaelle Race and Founding Editor Geoff Orton – and a real honour to help, in my own small way, to publish a new generation of literary talent.

And, speaking of privilege – as gatekeeper to a publication, I’ve had front row seats to the rise of a new era in Australian letters. One where, finally, we’re starting to see an elision of established literary culture and the rise of traditionally marginalised voices; queer voices, feminist voices, voices of colour, Indigenous voices, voices articulating things that have needed to be said for far too long.

As a reader, it’s a wonderful development – there’s no simpler way to protect a reader from the perils of boring writing. New voices mean an end to the dismaying experience of picking up an article and realising that I’ve read it before, but done better by someone long dead.

As an editor tasked with making the most of this burgeoning talent, however, I’m getting a little long in the tooth. The time for me to step down for a tranquil retirement spent ~~yelling at clouds~~ writing editorials, and let younger, more exciting minds take the helm.

So, I am thrilled to announce that Elizabeth Flux, long-time Bloc writer, former Voiceworks editor and all-around literary genius will be taking over as Editor-In-Chief. She’s a woman. She’s a person of colour. Best of all, she’s half-white, so the forces of hegemonic white privilege can retain a sinister- Putinesque stranglehold on the culture as it sails into woker waters.

Flux’s reign of terror beings next week. I’m loudly confident she’s going to do wonderful things with this website, and that’s good for Writers Bloc, for literature, and most of all, you, dear reader.

Thanks for your company these past few years. I’ll now bow out humbly, gracefully, and while I’ve still got access to the webcode, with a plug for my latest (critically acclaimed, award-winning) book.