Meet the team: Gabriella Munoz – Communications and Administration
An interview with Gabriella Munoz, Stella’s new Communications & Administration Officer.
Gabriella is a writer and editor who has worked in the publishing industry for over 18 years. She has edited print and online magazines in Mexico, Australia and the US. Her writing has been published in Cordite, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings and the Australian Multilingual Writing Project, among others. She was the 2018 Digital Writer in Residence at Writers Victoria and a 2019 Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellow. She’s the founding editor of Puentes Review, a literary platform for and by Latin American writers.
What excites you most about working at Stella?
Learning from the wonderful staff and judges. Reading books I haven’t read before. Finding different ways to promote women’s writing and audiences for books published by women and non-binary writers. Exploring new ways to make books accessible. Helping new generations discover new voices and, most importantly, helping underrepresented voices be heard.
What role have books and reading played in your life?
As an only child, I always wanted to have siblings and lots of cousins. Reading gave me the space to imagine what life could be like if I had this big family I longed for. As I grew older, I discovered in books a companion and a way to understand and question the world. I love reading and read as much as I can. I also enjoy editing and helping others get published. I’m a mother and lately I have spent a lot of time reading children’s books. I always tell my children that books give you wings.
When you are not working, what do you like to do?
I like to do yoga and go for long walks on the beach. I also like to sit down and drink tea and play board games. I never say no to a good film or TV show. But, what I really, really like to do when I’m not working is dancing.
What are you reading now?
I just finished reading Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au, which I loved, and The Years by Annie Ernaux. I’m reading Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein and Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Without Shame: Poems. I read three or four books at the same time, which I know is a bad habit I’ll break one day (or maybe not). My copy of Fernanda Trias’ Pink Slime just arrived, and I can’t wait to read it!
What’s your favourite Stella Prize book?
This is a very hard question. I love so many of the Stella Prize-listed books, but if I must choose, I’d say The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose and Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen.
What’s your favourite independent bookstore?
My favourite independent bookstore is Amplify Bookstore, a beautifully curated online bookshop that sells books by BIPOC authors. The selection is impeccable. My other favourite independent bookstore is El Péndulo, in Mexico City’s Polanco neighbourhood. I can spend hours browsing their enormous selection of books, DVDs and literary goodies. They also sell great coffee and cake (guava cheesecake!). It is a beautiful and magical place that I wish had a branch in Australia.
