Hello! I’m Leah Jing McIntosh. I’m a critic, researcher, and the founding editor of Liminal magazine. I have a Master’s in English Literature from University College London, and am currently completing my PhD at the University of Melbourne, where I’m researching the possibilities of diasporic autofiction. Last year, I was awarded a teaching fellowship in Cultural Studies.

I edited the essay collection Against Disappearance: Essays on Memory in 2022, which won SPN’s award for ‘Book of the Year’. In 2020, I edited the critically-acclaimed fiction anthology Collisions: Fictions of the Future. I have established national literary prizes and mentorships, produced community events, and partnered with major arts organisations to advocate for a more equitable arts sector. I recently launched the inaugural Liminal Festival, in partnership with The Wheeler Centre.

I host and participate in panels on books and writing; I’ve assessed arts grants for local, state and federal bodies; I’ve had the privilege of judging literary prizes such the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards, and the Peter Blazey Fellowship. I partake in industry advisory committees for organisations like the UNESCO City of Literature, RMIT, and the Emerging Writers Festival. This year, I am part of the Stella Prize judging panel.

My work is underpinned by an anti-racist praxis, which means I sometimes get into trouble. Trouble aside, for my work on Liminal, I have been awarded the medal of the Order of Australia for my services to the arts, and the Australia Council Kirk Robson Award for Community Arts and Cultural Development.

Photograph / JM Tubera