Grainer and Mouhajer awarded Affirm Press Mentorship

Affirm Press and Sweatshop Literacy Movement are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024–25 round of the Affirm Press Mentorship for Sweatshop Writers: Phoebe Grainer and Adrian Mouhajer. Phoebe is a Kuku Djungan, Muluridji, Wakaman, Tagalaka, Kunjen, Warrgamay and Yidindji woman from Far North Queensland. Phoebe is a playwright and actor who recently contributed to the BlackWrights program at ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and starred in the lead cast for SBS’s TV series While the Men are Away. Adrian is a queer, non-binary Lebanese-Australian writer, fighter and editor from Lakemba. They have performed their poetry for Bankstown Poetry Slam and Queerstories, as well as edited the 2023 anthology Stories Out West.

The director of Sweatshop, Mohammed Ahmad, said that Affirm Press Mentorship has firmly secured the careers of Australia’s most exciting new authors. ‘Sweatshop is incredibly proud of Phoebe and Adrian, who are destined to continue the inspiring legacy of this important award with their own original contributions to our national literature. Sweatshop is also thankful to our dear friends at Affirm Press, who have demonstrated what all Australians – Black, Brown and White – can achieve when we work together.’ Phoebe and Adrian are the fifth and sixth mentees who will collaborate closely over two years with editors from Affirm Press to develop their writing into books.

Phoebe says, ‘I’m happy to be a part of this mentorship and start my journey of creating my first manuscript. It’s exciting to dream up story. I’m so thankful for my Sweatshop family and Affirm Press for supporting my storytelling.’

Adrian says, ‘I’m deeply grateful to Sweatshop and my mentors for continuously supporting me in the cultivation and refinement of my own creative voice. I’m excited about the opportunity to further my creative development with Affirm Press. I’m excited to develop my own debut manuscript, where I can share my experiences with testing and bending the boundaries of combat sports, along with gender and sexuality as a self-identified “Lesbanese” Muslim."

Affirm Press commissioning editor Ruby Ashby-Orr, who coordinates the mentorship, says, ‘Sweatshop’s emerging writers are consistently some of the most dynamic and inventive in the country, and we love working with them. Both Adrian and Phoebe have unique voices and incredible stories, and we’re excited about helping them develop their full-length manuscripts.’

Earlier this year, Affirm Press was honoured to announce signing books with Egyptian-Australian writer Daniel Nour and African-American-Australian writer Tyree Barnette. Daniel and Tyree were the recipients of the 2021–23 Affirm Press Mentorship for Sweatshop Writers. They worked with Ruby Ashby-Orr to develop their manuscripts over the past three years. Daniel and Tyree’s books will be published in 2025.

Established in 2018, the mentorship was created to support and represent members of the growing collective of culturally diverse writers within the Sweatshop community. The mentees are awarded up to two years of editorial support and feedback to develop their debut books, as well as advice on building a writing profile. Affirm Press receives the first publishing option for the chosen manuscripts. Previous recipients of the mentorship who have gone on to be published by Affirm are award-winning poet and writer Sara M Saleh and author Shirley Le. Sara is the author of the 2023 novel Songs for the Dead and the Living, which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award. Shirley’s 2023 novel Funny Ethnics was shortlisted for The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize and the Age Book of the Year Award. Funny Ethics is currently being developed for the screen.