Jessica Au

A sense of suburban ugliness, occasionally undercut with twists of magic realism, runs through the latest issue of Offset, Victoria University’s creative arts journal. Like its contemporaries Above Water, Verandah, Verge, and Visible Ink, Offset is a student-run publication – a new editorial team is selected each year – and provides a vital space for both emerging editors and artists to trade work and ideas. Produced by committee, there is a yearbook-like feel to this community-driven collection. Aesthetically, 2014’s incarnation is the strongest yet, beautifully designed by Chloe Watson, with an eye for storytelling and narrative simplicity, and featuring a whimsical cover illustration by Renee Cerncic.

Why is it that women with supportive partners are still thought of as lucky, as if they have won a lottery? In the winter of 2012, Annabel Crabb ran into Tanya Plibersek, who had raised three children over the course of a successful parliamentary career with the help of her husband, a senior state bureaucrat. When Crabb commented on how fortunate they were to have helpful spouses, Plibersek replied, with characteristic dry wit, that she sincerely hoped they would be the last generation who needed to feel lucky about that.

Jessica Au’s first novel, Cargo, is an arresting look at what it means to be young.