Esmé Louise James

Dr Esmé Louise James (@dr.esme.louise) is best known for her Kinky History series, which has gained a following of over 3.5 million people across social platforms. Esmé received her PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2024, her research exploring the erotic as an aesthetic in eighteenth-century literature. She has written for The Age, the ABC and The Conversation, and is the author of the internationally released book Kinky History (2025). She is a three-time AACTA nominee for Best Digital Creator, was named Media Week’s Best Digital Talent in 2024 and received AiMCO’s ‘Influence for Good’ Award in 2026. She is also the recipient of the University of Melbourne’s Rising Star Award, was a speaker at TEDx Sydney in 2022, was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2026 and runs her own media production company specialising in edu-tainment.