Last week, on June 19th, UNSW hosted the Emerging Features event, celebrating poignant literary contributions from students across the two Arc UNSW publications, UNSWeetened and Blitz. The evening also honoured outstanding student writers who conducted exceptional interviews with a diverse array of authors in collaboration with the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Held at and partially sponsored by the UNSW Bookshop, the event created a warm atmosphere as crowds gathered to support the award presentations and explore the offerings of UNSWeetened and Blitz. The awards are as follows:

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The awards were presented by UNSWeetened coordinator Lychee Lui:

Category: Essay 

Winner: Nikita Jasmine Almira (Interstellar Transmissions)

Runner up: Olivia Soca (More Than Art)

Category Prose 

Winner: Joyce Li (Yellow Moon)

Category: Poetry 

Winner: Huda Mahmood (Ritual Skin)

Runner up: Finlay Smith (Goodness in the Dead of a Wretched Eden Summer)

The Essays were judged by the former 2020 UNSWeetened coordinator, Chloe McFadden.

The Poetry category was judged by the 2021 UNSWeetened coordinator, Axel Nathaniel Rose, and the Prose category were judged by Lecturer Dr. Craig Billingham!

The UNSWeetened online Journal can be accessed through Arc here.

For Blitz, the awards were presented by the Blitz Editor, Anandi Ganguly & Blitz Producer, Natrika Norizan.

Category: Best Writer  

Winner: Ysabel Maranan, ‘Past Lives: The Latest Addition to the Heart Wrenching ‘In Another Life’ Cinematic Universe’ 

Runner up: Ella Beesley, ‘Barbie and The Academy: Are we still missing the point?’ 

Category: Video 

Winner: Felicity Ng, ‘Sydney Writers’ Festival: If your book was turned into a movie who would you want to play the main character?’ 

Runner up: Jeevna Alagiri, ‘International markets: What are your biggest food culture shocks?’ 

The Blitz submissions were judged by Arc Media Coordinator, Dominique Nash.

You can read all these articles and many, many more through the Blitz website here.

You can find these videos on the Blitz TikTok and Instagram page!

For the Sydney Writers Festival, the awards were presented by the Director for UNSW's Centre for Ideas, Alice Marklew

Paula Campos (interviewed Jazz Money) 

Amy Malcom (interviewed Antony Loewenstein) 

Eloise Wajon (interviewed Cat Rodie) 

Lychee Lui (interviewed and awarded for Roanna Gonsalves) 

All these interviews are available to read on Blitz magazine. For Blitz’s full coverage of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, click here!

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The celebration had a massive turnaround of 130 students from varying degrees, united by their passion for media and student literature.

All students have played an essential role in the continued success of these publications. Their dedication, creativity, and hard work have ensured that both UNSWeetened and Blitz remain vibrant and engaging platforms for student expression and literary excellence. The broader UNSW community extends heartfelt congratulations and deep appreciation to these students for their invaluable contributions, recognising the significant impact they have made in enriching the university's cultural and intellectual landscape. The evening came to a delicious end with a fantastic collection of snacks and drinks!

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