Patrick Lenton Joins Star Observer As Our New Digital Manager & Journalist

Star Observer is absolutely delighted (to the point of dramatic gay dizziness) to announce that acclaimed writer, editor and cultural commentator Patrick Lenton has officially joined our editorial team as our new Digital Manager and Journalist.

Honestly, this is less of a recruitment update and more me wanting to brag! Patrick’s byline has been a mainstay of Australia’s arts, culture and queer media landscape for years, and welcoming him into the Star Observer crew feels so incredibly exciting.

On a personal note, I’ve been a fan of Patrick’s writing for many years now — I have sent stories he’s written to friends saying “THIS!! EXACTLY THIS!!” more times than I can count over the years. His work has always had that rare combination of sharp intelligence, emotional honesty, and a sense of humour that is truly unique and an absolute fucking delight. I’ve always loved his writing about bisexuality in particular: he understands queer lives as complicated, political, joyful, frustrating, and very funny — often all at once, and he wants to share it all.

Patrick joins Star Observer with an extraordinary body of work behind him. He is the author of A Man Made Entirely of Bats (2015), Uncle Hercules and Other Lies (2019), and Sexy Tales of Paleontology (2021) — which was was shortlisted for the SPN Book of the Year Award and The Russell Prize for Humour Writing.

Last year, Patrick also published his debut novel, In Spite of You, a gorgeously queer rom-com slash revenge story. In fact, I actually reviewed it for Star – unsurprisingly, it was a glowing review, because I swear everything the man touches turns to gold.

As a journalist and editor, his resume is just as formidable. He has previously worked as a reporter for ABC Everyday, the Arts + Culture Deputy Editor at The Conversation — where he was also a Walkley Awards finalist — and earlier served as Editor of pop culture publication Junkee.

He’s had bylines in The Guardian, SMH/The Age, ABC Everyday, Junkee, The Shot, VICE and more. Patrick is also a familiar face and voice across television and radio, appearing as an arts and culture commentator on The Project, ABC Breakfast, and more.

Basically, if you’ve watched, listened to, or read Aussie pop culture coverage in recent years, chances are you’ve encountered Patrick somewhere along the way. He also happens to be extremely funny online, and has a stupidly cute greyhound named Basil.

Crucially, Patrick also brings a deep commitment to independent queer media. He is the founding editor of Nonsense, a newsletter covering comedy, queer news and culture. In 2024, Nonsense received a Public Interest Journalism grant from the Walkley Foundation and Meta, as part of The LGBTQIA+ Media Watch Project, which commissions LGBTQIA+ writers from around the world to examine queer representation in media and culture.

Speaking about joining Star Observer, Patrick said:

“As the world gets darker and scarier for the LGBTQIA+ community in Australia, with a resurgence of hate and intolerance coinciding with the rise of fascism around the world, I truly believe in the importance of independent queer-led media, which tells our stories and investigates our issues.

“Also, some of the straight takes about Heated Rivalry have been really annoying to read. So I’m absolutely thrilled to join the team at Star Observer, who do integral work in boosting queer voices – I remember reading editions of the magazine on late-night trains back to Wollongong and seeing in them the first glimmers of hope when I was a scared, closeted teen. I also saw my first leather daddy in those hallowed pages, which was an equally important discovery.”

“As a fervent and sometimes antagonistically bisexual man, I will always fight for fair representation of underrepresented portions of queer community, and make sure none of the letters in the LGBTQIA+ acronym get left behind.

He also adds that he is always, always, ALWAYS open to receiving tips and stories, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to him at patrick@ssonet.com.au.

We couldn’t be prouder to have him on board, and we can’t wait for readers to see the undoubtedly magic content he’ll bring to Star Observer 💖