Julia Prendergast’s debut novel: The Earth Does Not Get Fat was published by UWA Publishing in April 2018. Julia’s recent short stories are included in Australian Short Stories 66, Pascoe Publishing (2018). Julia’s stories have been finalists in international competitions including the Josephine Ulrick Prize (AU) and the Séan Ó Faoláin Competition (IE). Julia’s fiction appears in publications including Lightship Anthology 2 (UK), TEXT (AU) and Review of Australian Fiction (AU). Julia is a Lecturer in Writing and Literature at Swinburne University, Melbourne, and Deputy Chair of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP), the peak academic body representing the discipline of Creative Writing in Australasia. Julia is the director of the 2019 Australian Short Story Festival.