JONATHAN O’BRIEN

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A person is what they do,and who they do it with.

I began my career in writing and publishing, and ran an artist residency in Brisbane that ran up against zoning. Now I work in public policy, analysing and communicating solutions to the problems our nation needs to solve.

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2023—CURRENT

YIMBY Melbourne

Australia's foremost supply-side policy organisation.

I lead and build our organisation's capacity, including end-to-end research, communications, fundraising, and policy transformation.

2025—CURRENT

Inflection Points

Australia's newest, greatest, and only long-form policy magazine.

I commission and edit longform writing on Australia's most pressing policy questions, to help build a bigger, better Australia.

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2025 EMERGENT VENTURES AWARD MERCATUS CENTER AWARDEE OPEN
2023 CHAPTER ONE PRIZE AWARD AAWP WINNER OPEN
2023 COMMONWEALTH SHORT STORY AWARD COMMONWEALTH FDN LONGLISTED
2023 FUNDRAISE FOR AUSTRALIA FELLOWSHIP FUNDRAISING ACADEMY COMPLETED OPEN
2023 QUEENSLAND LITERARY AWARD AWARD YOUNG WRITER & PUBLISHER WINNER OPEN
2020 ASSOCIATE FELLOW (AFHEA) FELLOWSHIP ADVANCE HE (UK) AWARDED OPEN
2020 FLINDERS AUSSTAGE PRIZE AWARD THEATRE STUDIES (ADSA) WINNER OPEN
2020 LORD MAYOR'S FELLOWSHIP FELLOWSHIP BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL AWARDED OPEN
2020 QUEENSLAND LITERARY AWARD AWARD GLENDOWER EMERGING SHORTLISTED OPEN
2019 PLAYLAB INCUBATOR FELLOWSHIP WRITERS' FELLOWSHIP COMPLETED OPEN
2019 RTP SCHOLARSHIP SCHOLARSHIP QUT AWARDED OPEN
2018 HILL END AIR RESIDENCY HILL END, NSW COMPLETED OPEN
2018 VARUNA WRITERS' HOUSE RESIDENCY BLUE MOUNTAINS COMPLETED OPEN
2017 YOUNG WRITERS AWARD AWARD STATE LIBRARY QLD WINNER OPEN
2016 MONASH PRIZE AWARD CREATIVE WRITING SHORTLISTED OPEN
2015 RICHELL PRIZE AWARD HACHETTE / GUARDIAN SHORTLISTED OPEN
2014 CREATIVE WRITING PRIZE AWARD QUT WINNER

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Jonathan O'Brien is the CEO of YIMBY Melbourne, Australia's foremost supply-side policy organisation. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of long-form policy journal Inflection Points, and a Queensland Literary Award–winning writer and publisher.

Jonathan’s first non-fiction book, Boundless, will be out with Hardie Grant in 2027. He is a 10% pledger with Giving What We Can.

JONATHAN@JONOBRI.COM

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