Robert Verhagen is an emerging writer based in the Yarra Valley. He holds a Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing from the University of Melbourne and has been published by Meniscus literary journal (The Audit), Westerly (Herinnering), SWAMP (Isthmus) and Grattan Street Press (Gaffer Tape). He came runner up in the AAWP Life Writing Prize in 2022. Beyond fiction, Robert chairs a community not-for-profit magazine in the Kinglake Ranges, and has taught creative writing to primary and secondary students in classrooms across Victoria.