‘If I had to pick one word to describe the current landscape of New Zealand literary journals, it would be ‘wild’. Practitioners are free to form their own outlets where they see gaps they would like to be filled and this makes for an exciting, vibrant time. Stimulating new journals appear regularly – over the last few years, the likes of Headland, Sweet Mammalian and the very newly established Oscen. With my co-editor, Francis Cooke, I set up Starling in the same way – an online literary journal for New Zealand writers under twenty-five years old. As a young writer growing up in an isolated region in the days before the Internet, it had been hard to find opportunities for publication. It also felt difficult to compete against established writers with decades more experience than me. I wanted to provide a space for others in similar situations.’