Denise Chapman  is a counternarrative storyteller, poet, critical autoethnographer, and academic who lectures in children’s literature and inclusive children’s media at Monash University. She has served as a literacy specialist for diverse communities in Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Singapore, UAE, and the USA.  Denise's scholarly engagements centre on critical media literacy with a special focus on the impact of representation on imagination and the importance of critical curation and use of children’s literature. Her counter-hegemonic creative work continues the traditions of her Gullah heritage and explores themes of immigration, Black-motherhood, belonging, and racial literacy. Denise was shortlisted for the Queensland Poetry’s 2022 XYZ Prize and exhibited her poetry and interactive digital storytelling at Brisbane MetroArts (2022), the Counihan Gallery (2023), and DotDot Studios (2024). In 2023, she was the Mem Fox Visiting Research Fellow and an invited speaker for AATE / ALEA’s national conference in 2023 and 2024.