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Felicity Castagna

Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University
Felicity Castagna has published four novels for adults and young adults including her most recent book, Girls In Boys’ Cars which received The Victorian and Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for YA and is now being adapted for stage and screen. Her previous novel, No More Boats was a finalist in the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Awards and is published internationally by Europa. Her young adult novel The Incredible Here and received The Prime Minister’s Award for Young Adult Literature as well as the IBBY Award and was a finalist in several other awards including the CBCA Book of the Year Award. She has worked with artists in many different fields to produce work for The Sydney Opera House, The Sydney Festival, The National Theatre of Parramatta, The Four Winds Festival and many other places as well as with The Finishing School Collective. Her creative non-fiction and critical responses to literature, art and home are published both here and internationally on platforms such as The Sydney Review of Books, Electric Literature, LitHub, The Griffith Review and ABC radio and television.
Castagna is a highly experienced teacher, speaker, writing mentor and teacher educator who has facilitated workshops everywhere from schools to community arts centres to correctional centres and has helped to establish, promote and run many writing and storytelling programs. She is currently a Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University.

Economy

Dollar Rises Amid Trade Deal Uncertainty, Yen and Franc Strengthen

The U.S. dollar edged higher Friday, rebounding from earlier losses as markets reacted to mixed signals from President Donald Trump on trade talks and monetary policy. The greenback has swung sharply this week, falling 1%...

Asian Tech Stocks Climb on Alphabet Earnings and AI Optimism

Asian stock markets mostly advanced on Friday, driven by a rally in tech shares after Alphabets strong earnings and bullish AI outlook. The U.S. tech giant beat earnings expectations and reaffirmed its commitment to...

Oil Prices Inch Up but Face Weekly Loss on OPEC+, Geopolitical Developments

Oil prices edged higher early Friday but remained on track for a weekly decline amid rising supply prospects and mixed signals on global demand. Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $66.60 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas...

AI Stock Rally Lifts Futures as Alphabet Leads Tech Surge

U.S. stock index futures rose Thursday evening, driven by strong earnings from Alphabet Inc. and renewed investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) and tech stocks. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) jumped nearly 5% in...

BoJ Rate Hike Odds Rise as Tokyo Inflation Surges Beyond Expectations

Tokyos consumer inflation surged in April, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated. According to ING analysts, a sharper-than-expected rise in Tokyos core...

Politics

Marcos Orders Probe Into Alleged Chinese Interference in Philippine Elections

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered a full investigation into alleged Chinese interference in the countrys upcoming May elections, following alarming reports from top security officials. Presidential...

Moon Jae-in Criticizes Prosecutors Amid Bribery Indictment

Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in accused the countrys prosecutors of political bias and abuse of power following his recent indictment on bribery charges. Speaking on Friday during a meeting with National Assembly...

Pentagon Removes Advisory Members Amid Strategic Shift

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed several members of Department of Defense advisory committees following a comprehensive 45-day internal review, according to a statement released Thursday by Pentagon...

Russia Uses North Korean Missile in Kyiv Strike, Killing 12

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed that a North Korean ballistic missile was used by Russia in a deadly airstrike on Kyiv, killing 12 civilians. The missile, identified as a KN-23 (KN-23A), hit a residential...

Trump Urges Putin to Halt Kyiv Missile Strikes Amid Peace Talks

At least 12 people were killed and 90 wounded after Russia launched its largest missile and drone attack on Kyiv this year, devastating buildings and sparking fires across the Ukrainian capital. The assault drew a rare...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Intel Sees Surge in Older Chip Demand Amid U.S.-China Trade War Fears

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is experiencing a rise in demand for its older-generation PC and server chips as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies, executives revealed after the companys latest earnings release. Economic...

Baidu Launches Advanced Ernie AI Models to Compete in China’s Growing AI Race

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) has launched upgraded versions of its Ernie artificial intelligence models, intensifying its push in Chinas fast-evolving AI landscape. At a developer conference held in Wuhan, CEO Robin Li introduced...

South Korea Flags DeepSeek for Unauthorized Data Transfers to China and U.S.

South Koreas Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of transferring personal user data and prompt content without consent during its app launch in January 2025. The PIPC...

Adobe Expands Firefly with AI from OpenAI and Google, Launches Mobile App

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) is expanding its Firefly generative AI service by integrating image-generation models from OpenAI and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), while also making the app available on mobile devices. This move...

Nintendo Switch 2 Sees Surging Demand with 2.2 Million Lottery Applications in Japan

Nintendo has revealed that over 2.2 million people have entered a lottery for the new Switch 2 console in Japan, signaling overwhelming demand ahead of its June 5 launch. The company admitted it cannot fulfill all orders...