Aimee-Jane Anderson-O'Connor

Growing up, Aimee-Jane always dreamt of becoming a writer.  Before she started university, Aimee had never written poetry, but she stumbled upon Catherine Chidgey’s summer school Writing Studies paper at the end of her first year. “I fell in love with poetry straight away, and from then on, I took as many papers as I could.”

Aimee soon started sending her poems to various journals, doubtful they would ever be picked up. To her surprise, her pieces were published by many journals and the University of Waikato’s Mayhem.

“I can still remember the first time my work was published – it was surreal,” Aimee says. “I built up the courage to submit my work to Starling, a journal for young emerging writers, and I got such a buzz when they published my piece.”

The Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts graduate wants to use her talent to give a voice to marginalised communities. She loves encouraging others to give writing a go.