Introducing the facilitators of Toolkits Season 1 2026
We are thrilled to introduce you to the fantastic facilitators for Toolkits Season 1 2026!
Toolkits is a 12-week online program for creatives aged 16-30 to develop their skills, workshop, and connect with other writers. In the first streams for 2026, Express Media is running courses in fiction with Miriam Webster and graphic narratives with Tommi Parrish.
Sessions will run on Wednesday evenings, 6pm–8pm AEST between 13 May and 29 July. Applications close on Sunday April 19 at 11:59pm AEST.
In the leadup, we asked Miriam Webster and Tommi Parrish what they’re looking forward to about Toolkits.
Miriam Webster, Toolkits: Fiction
“Finding an original voice in fiction is a matter of putting your experience into conversation with your craft. This course is a place to experiment with form and style, connect with other writers and tap into the special kind of thinking only fiction can do. ”
Miriam Webster writes and teaches fiction, essays and poetry in and around Naarm/Melbourne. Her writing has appeared in publications like Aniko Magazine, Griffith Review, HEAT, Island, Overland, The Sydney Review of Books, The Suburban Review, swim meet lit mag and certain zines. Her first book, a collection of short stories called The Slip, was published by Aniko Press in 2025. She is currently working on a novel as part of a PhD in Creative Writing.
Miriam Webster
Toolkits: Fiction facilitator 2026
Tommi Parrish, Toolkits: Graphic Narratives
“Because we are meaning-making machines, a story is anything our minds can make a story, and a comic is anything our minds can make a comic. It is our task to expand the machinery.”
Tommi Parrish is a trans Australian cartoonist, painter, and sculptor living in Naarm. Their debut work, The Lie and How We Told It, won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel and was nominated for the Ignatz Award. Their sophomore title, Men I Trust, was nominated for the LA Times Book Prize and was highlighted in The New York Times Book Review. Collectively, these titles have been translated into 11 languages worldwide. Tommi's newest work, The Past is a Grotesque Animal, was released by Fantagraphics in early 2026 and is available in all good bookstores. Tommi's work has been featured in The New Yorker, Granta, The New York Times, Pitchfork, Vice, and many more. They are currently completing a master's degree in contemporary art at Victoria College of the Arts.
Tommi Parrish previously featured as a guest for Toolkits: Live, which you can watch here!
Tommi Parrish
Toolkits: Graphic Narratives facilitator 2026
Toolkits is free for Express Media members along with a number of other perks, events, and opportunities. If you’re not already a member, you can easily sign up here.
Express Media is committed to access, so if you would like to sign up and are experiencing financial hardship, please submit your application and contact us via info@expressmedia.org.au to be awarded one of our sponsored memberships if your Toolkits application is successful.
Have a question? Need help with your application? Send an email to Express Media’s Creative Producer Mia Nie at creativeproducer@expressmedia.org.au.