Christian Tsoutsouvas is about to complete his studies in Creative Writing, Linguistics and French at the University of Melbourne. As well as being a Creative Producer with EWF he is also a radio presenter with SYN Media and a youth autism mentor with the I CAN Network.

What do you do outside of EWF? (Uni? Creating? Working? etc)

I’m currently in my last semester of studying Creative Writing, Linguistics and French at the University of Melbourne. I’m also a radio presenter on Loud & Queer, The Naughty Rude Show and Art Smitten at the Student Youth Network and a school mentor with The I CAN Network working with students on the Autism Spectrum.

What made you apply for the CP position & how are you finding it so far?

When I applied, I had just spent a year interviewing people about arts festivals and events and so I was super keen to start sinking my teeth into that field myself. The Emerging Writers’ Festival looked like the perfect place to start. I loved the openness and vibrancy of the festival. This year, I’m very grateful and proud to have the chance to contribute my very own event to the festival program.

What kind of writers/writing are you most drawn to & why?

I think I’m most drawn to introspective stories written in the first person. One of my other big interests is theatre, so I love the kind of writing that blurs the lines between written language and spoken language. After all, writing did first emerge as a way of recording speech. I definitely enjoy how the written mode has taken on a life of its own but I also enjoy the kind of writing that brings it back to its roots, so to speak.

What are you reading at the moment or what’s your favourite thing you’ve read in the past few months?

At the moment I’m late to the party and am still reading The Disaster Artist. I think the best thing I’ve read in the past few months has been Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Anderson. I’m woefully uneducated when it comes to comics but I’m so glad I came across this one thanks to my book group. Among other things, it’s a delightfully comical take on social anxiety that’s relatable without being generic.

What excites you about working in a creative/arts/management field?

It’s a gateway to so many things. You can make art about anything, so in creating/managing you get to interact with fields like history, science, social justice, politics. psychology etc. in ways that are incredibly approachable. It’s very freeing but it’s also very grounding. I quite like alternating between making big plans and dreams and doing lots of logistical things.

What are you hoping to do post-EWF?

Immediately after the festival, I will be working in France for 7 months as an English Language Teaching Assistant in Primary Schools and High Schools. After that, who knows?

Check out what Christian is producing with EWF,  Late Night Lit: Art vs Science.

The 2018 Emerging Writers’ Festival will run from 19 – 29 June. The full festival program can be found here.

Interview by fellow Creative Producer Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh.