The current black&write! team

The black&write! Project was established in 2011 to train First Nations editors to work in the Australian publishing industry, and to support First Nations authors in their career development.

Over the years, winners of the black&write! Fellowships have published books through the program which have been recognised with literary awards, prizes and accolades. 

We are proud to help these storytellers be heard far and wide.  

Contact us at Indigenous.Writing@slq.qld.gov.au or 07 3842 9985 or follow our Facebook page.

Grace Lucas-Pennington 
Senior Editor, black&write!

Grace is a Bundjalung/European person living on Yuggera land. She grew up mostly between Bundjalung country on the NSW north coast and the greater Logan/Brisbane area. Grace works as an editor, mentor, publishing consultant and is a Board member of Byron Writers Festival. She was awarded the 2020 Nakata Brophy Prize for poetry. 

Grace was the recipient of a black&write! Editing Internship in 2015 and was appointed Senior Editor in 2017.

Nadia Johansen
Junior Editor, black&write!

Nadia is a Gungarri woman from south-west Queensland, living and working in Brisbane. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at QUT and has a background working in Indigenous community organisations. She was runner-up in the inaugural SBS Emerging Writers' Competition. Nadia edits and writes because she believes Indigenous storytelling gives power, richness and truth-telling to Australian literature.

Bianca Valentino
Junior Editor, black&write!

Bianca is a Blak editor, writer and artist living on Yugambeh Country. She a is an Editor-In-Residence at literary journal Kill Your Darlings and a commissioning First Nations Editor at SBS Voices. She was a judge for the 2022 Richell Prize and was on the shortlisting and longlisting teams for the 2022 SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition. Bianca is the first Indigenous woman to publish and edit a music publication in Australia, gimmiezine.com. Her writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Rookie, Voiceworks, The Big Issue and other magazines. She has a passion for literature and community, having worked in libraries for 14+ years. First Nations stories, and amplifying Blak voices, are important to her.  

Darby Jones
Editor Intern, black&write!

Darby was raised on Kamilaroi Country in St. George, south-west Queensland. He is an avid reader and passionate writer whose work grapples with themes of gender, queer identity, technology, and time. His writing has been featured in The Jacaranda Journal (2021), Beyond Queer Words (2022), and Lemonade: Letters to Art (2023). Darby is a firm believer in the power of storytelling and its potential to transform readers and writers alike.