Marginalia — Helena Pantsis
Helena Pantsis on ‘Mother Salad’ and the horrors of the mundane: using surrealism to confront societal pressures on women
Lauren Pratt Helena Pantsis Interview Mother Salad Naomi Becker
Helena Pantsis (she/they) explains how their surrealist writing in Mother Salad exposes and embodies the crushing pressure on women to ‘mother’. UWA Publishing intern Naomi Becker interviews Helena about her use of horror to capture life's fears, such as mortality, aging, and purpose. Helena also responds by sharing vulnerable insights into how the short-fiction collection was partly inspired by her witnessing initially non-conforming women give in to societal pressures. This discussion addresses her masterful use of absurdism to explore the stigmatised struggles women experience.
Two UWA Publishing titles shortlisted in the 2026 Queensland Literary Awards
Lauren Pratt Helena Pantsis Julianne Negri Mother Salad Queensland Literary Awards The Belly of a Wolf
Congratulations to UWA Publishing authors Julianne Negri and Helena Pantsis who have been shortlisted in the Queensland Literary Awards.
UWA Publishing has acquired world rights to Helena Pantsis' collection of short stories
Lauren Pratt Acquisition Helena Pantsis Mother Salad
UWA Publishing has acquired world rights to Mother Salad, a collection of short stories, by Naarm-based author Helena Pantsis for publication in 2026.