Image: Shannyn Higgins
Hi! I'm an opinion editor and nonfiction publisher currently working on Wurundjeri land in Melbourne, Australia.
Formerly the Ideas Editor at Quartz and the Editor of Kinfolk magazine, I bring a quality-of-life focus to the future's most pressing topics and translate dense, academic subjects into engaging content. During nearly a decade living in the United States, I edited New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling books, concepted innovative digital projects, and led award-winning teams of journalists and designers.
In addition to my journalistic work, I was a literary agent with Aevitas Creative Management in New York, where I represented nonfiction books about emerging science and technology, futurism, design, culture, and the arts. I am also a freelance book editor, helping Big 5 publishers make sense of their thorniest manuscripts on topics such as augmented reality, cell biology, feminist economics, and digital democracy.
When I moved back home, I became the Publisher of ABC Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Australia. I wanted to spend the next stage of my career telling Australian stories, and this opportunity brought my dual careers in news journalism and book publishing together. During my time at ABC Books, I worked with esteemed journalists such as ABC Global Affairs editor John Lyons, former Four Corners investigative reporter Quentin McDermott, and The Guardian’s lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman; produced humorous guidebooks from The Chaser co-creator Dom Knight and Bush Mechanics director David Batty; and even brought national living treasure Dr Karl’s long-awaited memoir to life.
Aside from editing and writing, I'm a public speaker, workshop facilitator, and panel moderator. I’ve spoken about blockchain at the UN, facilitated cross-council sessions on future-proofing technology for the World Economic Forum, MC’d the AI stage at Web Summit, presented on evolutionary psychology at Creative Mornings, and helped write the opening talk at TED 2024. Offstage, I was also a member of the WEF’s Future of Quantum Computing Council, a consulting producer at the Intelligence Squared debate series, and a fellow at the N Square Innovation Network, focusing on raising awareness of nuclear weapon proliferation.
I specialise in making obtuse content accessible and complicated ideas simple. Whether that’s a whitepaper on a new economic theory, a short film on the ethics of gene editing, or a children’s book on the microbiome, I’m interested in using unexpected mediums to bring awareness to the world’s most important issues.
I love having a chat—if you do too, drop me a line here.