I was in my early 20s when I landed my dream job. It was early 2018 and I had just started a master’s degree at the University of Melbourne , mostly because I didn’t know what to do with a bachelor of arts.

I had majored in creative writing without really thinking about a future career, certain only that I had always loved writing and reading books. But it turned out debating the pros and cons of Ernest Hemingway and penning poems about teenage breakups didn’t exactly land you a job.

So I returned to university, attempting to channel my hero at the time, Helen Garner .

Life felt listless. My submissions to literary journals were getting rejected. I was jumping from hospitality job to hospitality job while remaining terrible at hospitality. And studying media and communications was surprisingly uninspiring.

Then, one night, I went to a book launch at the Trades Hall in Carlton, lured by free drinks and its proximity to my house.…