Steve MinOn

Proud of my alma mater @qutdmrc.bsky.social taking on @meanjin.bsky.social

First Name Second Name Shortlisted for the 2026 MUD Literary Prize Congratulations Steve MinOn! First Name Second Name has been shortlisted for the 2026 MUD Literary Prize.

Delighted to share that @minon.bsky.social has been shortlisted for this year's MUD Literary Prize!

Judges: "...is the novel with the most audacious premise: Stephen Bolin, pronounced dead, escapes from the hospital morgue and sets out to walk back to his birthplace" www.uqp.com.au/blog/first-n...

Australian books to look forward to in 2026: from a 278-page sentence to a memoir about a ‘cursed vagina’ It promises to be a marvellous year ahead for OzLit, with new books from the likes of Kate Grenville, Siang Lu, Antoinette Lattouf, Shaun Micallef, Judith Lucy and more

Marshall, O’Keeffe, Ouston….2026 is my biggest year ever in terms of new releases, so glad to see Beejay Silcox picking these for her highlights list… www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

The place that stayed with me: I fled the Greek Islands to chase a letter home As his 30th birthday loomed in Greece, Steve MinOn sent a letter to his parents in Australia. Then he waited.

A piece I wrote for The Guardian that opened up a sad memory of coming out. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

From Books+Publishing:
"Make Them Say Poo is a brilliantly silly, read-aloud riot that turns phonics into pure fun that
dares grown-ups to read aloud without saying poo - a challenge this book gleefully ensures they fail." - via @affirmpress.bsky.social

End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff Wealthy countries should triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal

“the answers to the climate crisis do not lie inside the climate talks – they lie with the people and movements leading the way toward a just, equitable, fossil-free future” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Make Them Say Poo Dear trusting adult,You can safely read this very nice book aloud to your child.There are absolutely no rude words on any page. I promise.*Your Wor...

And on the same day that @minon.bsky.social begins his quest for world literary domination with his @dublinlitaward.bsky.social nomination, his little *sideline* appears online, out in 2026! #MakeThemSayPoo www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Make-T...

Faves include bangers from @minon.bsky.social, @jillianluft.bsky.social, @bitterkarella.bsky.social , @elivalley.bsky.social , @sgj.bsky.social and, as the saying goes, MORE.

Thanks to Australian librarians for this exciting nomination!

AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads Hits include country songs and a Dutch anti-refugee anthem, both entirely made without human composition

He saw AI as “particularly valuable for people like me who have something to say but lack traditional musical training”. He claimed his songs “express frustration with governmental policies, not with migrants as individuals”. 🤮 www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Great appointment!

Why do we love Helen Garner so much? From Monkey Grip to How to End a Story, Helen Garner has been writing with clear-eyed precision for the better part of 50 years.

Australian author Helen Garner is now so famous and well-regarded that to say you don’t like her has almost become a badge of honour among rebels, which I think is sad. Wrote this piece for @artshub.bsky.social.

Weirdly, this very question is explored in Alien:Earth, which is not a philosophical tv series I saw coming.

AI slop sucks

Latest acquisitions: Children’s and YA | Books+Publishing Purchase a subscription to view job ads and other premium content on Books+Publishing.

I made them say POO
www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/202...

Please vote for my book First Name Second Name in The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award and let’s see if this little queer book about Chinese Hopping Vampires and 4 generations of migrant families can shake the literary tree in QLD.

www.slq.qld.gov.au/queensland-l...

I questioned mine so much I wrote a novel about myself as a jiangshi .

Banned! The 20 books they didn’t want you to read From Instagram poetry to Greek classics, the works of fiction that have caused uproar through history – and into the present

“Popularity, however, is no defence against the literary‑prohibition complex…” www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

If people are using AI to write better emails, they will use it to write better social media posts and then they will use it to write better comments. Then the algorithm can hate rage against the algorithm and AI will cancel itself.

I don’t often read novels, having little time & a lot of poetry books to get through, but I’ve just finished reading @minon.bsky.social ‘s novel ‘First Name Second Name’—such an original, complex, & moving book! I highly recommend it. Join me for the book club at ACE next Friday if you are in Sydney

Author Pip Adam on keeping faith in the project – The Creative Independent Author Pip Adam discusses how to regain your voice when you lose it, balancing day jobs and creative output, and how place informs the work

“It’s difficult to find a job you can put everything into & still have time & energy for writing. There always comes a point in the day job where they’re saying, don’t you want to do more? & I’m like, No, not really.” Great @pipadam.bsky.social interview! thecreativeindependent.com/people/autho...

How retro cool. 😎 Josh really is a top designer.

Author income idea that will never take off: set up a system like library borrowing rights but for books sold in second hand bookstores where the royalty goes direct to the author, paid to the collection body by the bookstore. (Add 50c to the margin, if they have to.)

Exactly

I feel this in all my bones.

Copyright & AI: Arts Minister Tony Burke pledges to protect artists’ rights In a wide-ranging speech touching on AI and copyright, the Arts Minister Tony Burke reaffirmed his opposition to the Productivity Commission's proposals.

Encouraging words from Burke, look forward to seeing this translate into action. We must keep the pressure up! www.artshub.com.au/news/news/co...

Race Disc Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman says he found it distressing the day Neo Nazis crashed the Anzac ceremony attacking Welcome To Country
“And all the debate after that became about Welcome To Country, rather than about ‘Why are Neo Nazis at the Anzac Day Rally?’”💯 #NPC

Excited to be facilitating a discussion of @minon.bsky.social ‘s book, First Name Second Name on 29 Aug for the Western Sydney Book Club—reserve your spot, it’s free to attend 

aceinc.org.au/whats-on/a-w...

Just finished reading it and it’s a triumph. She’s a master.