As part of the 2025 Regional Writers Rise Festival, Leading with Heart: A Community Conversation brought the community together for an open, reflective discussion about leadership, care, and courage, not as formal titles, but as quiet, often unseen acts that shape our lives and communities. Inspired by A Different Kind of Power, the memoir by former Aotearoa New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the conversation explored leadership through service, empathy, and presence. Guided by local guest speakers, we reflected on themes of self-doubt, grief, cultural repair, and the quiet strength of doing things differently.

More about the session and the guest speakers can be found on the Regional Writers Rise website.

In our neurospiciest episode yet, we explore writing with and about disability and the challenges of representation in writing. Whether you’re writing about your own experience or want to bring a bit of diversity to your characters, proceeding from a place of genuine curiosity and respect will not only help to ensure your prospective readers are treated fairly, but will make for better, more accurate writing. In our interview with writer and former manager of Writers Victoria’s Writeability program Jessica Obersby, we discuss how to navigate representation, as well as some of the programs and supports available. Jess also shares her own experience as a writer, and the subject of human-horse hybrids is addressed in exhaustive detail 🐴🥕😁🐎.

In this episode, we explore writing opportunities, careers and publishing. We discuss how we come up with ideas, what inspires us, receiving feedback, and our current ideas and writing projects. We also have an interview with Jordyn Presley, a creative writing PhD student and one of the editors of Paper Road Magazine, about creating and finding creative opportunities. Jordyn will delve into her experiences with postgraduate learning, her publications, her part in creating Paper Road and her experience as both an editor and writer.