Elise Lawrence is a freelance writer, editor, and caffeine-based life form, currently living and working in Meanjin (Brisbane) on the unceded land of the Jagera and Turrbal people. Her work has been published in Limelight Magazine, Hot Chicks with Big Brains, Voiceworks, Kyoto Journal, Mous Magazine, Overland, and more.

She moved to the city from her rural Far North Queensland hometown in 2013 and completed a Bachelor of Business (Management) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Creative and Professional Writing), graduating from both with Distinction. She blogs about her new home city at Backstreet Brisbane.

Elise has a keen interest in storytelling and performance, and is especially interested in writing performing arts reviews and critique. She loves to interview awesome people doing things that make them light up, especially creating things and running their own business. This led her to start Backstreet Brisbaners, sharing stories verbatim from Brisbane’s brilliant community.