February Meeting: 11 February 2025, 9:30am for 10am start, at Brisbane Square Library
Workshop – Great Beginnings by Anna Campbell, Award Winning Historical Romance Novelist
February Meeting: 11 February 2025, 9:30am for 10am start, at Brisbane Square Library
Workshop – Great Beginnings by Anna Campbell, Award Winning Historical Romance Novelist
We are a women’s writing organisation that welcomes published authors to those discovering their voices. If you have a passion for writing, you can develop your skills and connect with fellow writers at WWQ. We are a fun-filled group, serious about our writing as well as enjoying the comradery and friendship of the wonderful ladies in our organisation.
In 1925 the Imperial Press Conference Sydney hosted a conference for Visiting Writers and Journalists from the United Kingdom. At that time women were excluded from the all-male journalists’ club. This led to the wives of the delegates and the invited female delegates forming their own group which became The Society of Women Writers. (Dame) Mary Gilmore, Pattie Fotheringham, Mary Liddell and Isobel Gullett became the four Vice Presidents. Zara Aronson was Honorary Secretary; Agnes Mowie and Blanche d’Alpuget were Honorary Treasurers. Abigail Clancy was one of the founding committee’s fifteen members.
In 1982 The Society of Women Writers Queensland was incorporated and Mocco Wollert became our first Queensland State President.
Carol is a qualified journalist with a lifetime love of writing. She was born in the Caribbean, educated in England and went to James Cook University in Cairns, where she lived for forty years. Carol was a foundation member of Tropical Writers Inc. that set up the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival in 2008. As past president of the group, Carol promoted the craft of writing in as Queensland Writers Centre Liaison Officer, Queensland Regional Writers Reference Group and as regional representative for Far North Queensland. Carol currently resides in Boonah and is a contributing member of Scenic Rim Writers and Queensland Women’s Writers. When Carol is not writing, she can be found exercising at the Boonah Hydrotherapy Pool.
Writing History:
Carol was commissioned to write the 50-year history of a local Cairns Surf Lifesaving Club entitled: Our Club: The History of Ellis Beach SLSC 1957-2007.
Her play Angus was short-listed for the Short & Sweet Festival in Brisbane, Sydney and Singapore.
Carol’s work has appeared in seven anthologies. Five short stories were featured on ABC Open and read on ABC Radio Far North. Her story, Bring a Plate was recorded for Radio National. A work entitled Patrolling the Far North was made into a video for ABC TV.
This year, Carol hopes to complete her non-fiction book entitled: Cairns Modern Pioneers, 1950-2000.
Anna was born in Brisbane and grew up on an avocado farm in Redland Bay. She fell in love with story and the written word at a very young age, thanks to parents who encouraged her to read. She’s still a voracious reader across numerous genres. When she’s not reading, she’s a full-time writer, living in inner-city Brisbane. Right now, she’s catching up on all the cultural life that the capital offers, after moving down from the Sunshine Coast in 2023.
Anna realised very early that she wanted to be a writer. In grade 2, she wrote an essay claiming a future career as the next Enid Blyton. She started her first novel in grade 3, a rip-roaring saga about horse-napping, horses being her obsession at the time. Over the coming years, she continued to write and develop her craft, mainly in the historical romance genre which she loved to read.
In 2006, all that hard work paid off and she sold the manuscript for what eventually became Claiming the Courtesan to HarperCollins after a publishers’ auction in New York. As you can imagine, this was a dream come true, especially when the deal allowed Anna to give up the day job. Going to work in her pajamas never loses its charm!
Anna has since published nearly 50 historical romances (number 49 is out on 29th February, 2024), both with traditional publishers and independently. Most have been set in the Regency period, covering the first quarter of the 19th century, although she did take a side road a few years ago and write a few books set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 18th century. To date, her books have been translated into 19 languages. Anna has won numerous awards for her stories. Among these, she’s particularly proud that the Australian Romance Readers Association voted her Favourite Australian Romance Author five years in a row.
Her website is: www.annacampbell.com
Mandy is an author, copywriter, ghostwriter and editor gratefully situated in Tulmur (Springfield) QLD.
Born with an incurable love of words, Mandy has written and published several works of fiction and non-fiction. Over a career spanning two decades, she has worked as a journalist, copywriter, grant writer, scriptwriter, ghostwriter, and editor.
She is happiest when applying her writing, research and editing skills to give a voice to people who have powerful stories to tell.
When she’s not writing or editing, she enjoys Pilates, yoga, long-distance running and walks with her writing partner, sidekick and all-round fabulous pupper, Hunny.
Maureene has recently relocated to Brisbane from Sydney, where she enjoyed 11 years as president of the Forest Branch, Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW. Beside the duties of the position, she convened and presented workshops at most monthly meetings. Maureene hopes to continue this interest in Brisbane with small groups of writers under the banner of Words & Wisdom.
A current member of the Society of Women Writers, in both New South Wales and Queensland, Maureene describes herself as a compulsive writer. Dipping her toe into self-publishing, her first book was a collection of short stories, The Night Owl.
A place winner in many writing competitions Maureene was most recently awarded a Highly Commended for her second novel Stones, Bones & Hollyhocks, in the SWW NSW National Writing Competition 2022.
Maureene is currently word deep into her next novel, hoping for a 2025 delivery!
Ruth was born in Yorkshire, England, where she grew up surrounded by stories of the notorious Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer who terrorised the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s. That’s where her fascination with the psychology of criminals began; she wanted to understand what made them tick, what drove them to commit such horrific acts, and how they could be stopped. Her love of crime-based thrillers, although the courage to write her own didn’t happen until much later.
Ruth met her husband, an Australian, and moved to Australia 30 years ago. She loves this country and its people and is proud to call it her home. Her two amazing adult children are her biggest fans and supporters, encouraging her to pursue her dreams and never give up. Her wonderful husband is also very supportive; his favourite phrase is ‘shouldn’t you be writing?’
The 2023 Faber Writing Program, which Ruth completed, was an incredible experience. She said she learned so much from the tutors, guest speakers and fellow writers, and worked on her novel “Twisted Connections”, a psychological thriller that explores relationships between a serial killer and his father, and the connection between a potential victim and her brother.
Ruth read an extract of her novel at a Salon hosted by Avid Reader, a local bookstore in West End that supports emerging writers, an experience that she describes as ‘one of the most nerve-wracking but rewarding of my life’.
The Faber 2023 Anthology, scheduled to be launched around March or April 2024, will feature an extract of Ruth’s novel.
Jan’s move to Brisbane opened many new doors, including her Women Writers Queensland membership. Her circle of friends has grown and offered her the opportunity to involve herself with new, enjoyable interests, including creative writing. Her writing journey evolved after attending the Dubai Annual Literary Festival in 2014, where she met many international authors
Upon her return, Jan attended several writing courses in Noosa with an author/lecturer from America. Her mentorship set Jan on this exciting pathway. Jan published her debut Memoir, “A Grip on Reality”, in 2023. Excited by the positive feedback, she has completed the sequel, “A Grip on Living”. Jan’s love for the written word has led her down a pathway of self-discovery, challenging her perspectives on life.
In November 2023 she was honoured to be elected President of the Society of Women Writers Queensland. In the same month Jan received the Encouragement Award for the 2023 Marj Wilke Short Story Award. A new direction of short story writing now awaits her.
Jan’s website and social links – www.janwoodauthor.wiggly.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100081978428779&mibextid=LQQJ4d
https://www.instagram.com/janwoodauthor/?igsh=M2UzYTUzbzBqcTd0&utm_source=qr
Christine is an Australian indie author who was born in Papua New Guinea, and grew up on the island of Bougainville. A large part of her working life was in community development and international aid projects in the Asia Pacific Region.
Christine is drawn to social history, and non-fiction. She is a regular blogger with the Genealogy Society of Queensland (GSQ) and other family history sites. Her first serious writing project was a family history of her paternal Wall family, featuring William Wall, who was transported in 1835 to the colony of Van Diemen’s Land. This book titled The Wall Family Weaving the Threads of Memories is in its second print run and an E-book is available through Kobo and the Leonard Stories website.
A recent project saw Christine editing, and contributing with additional stories, to the memoir of the late Fr Franz Miltrup sm, a German priest who spent 50 years in Bougainville from 1938. Fr Miltrup died in 1996 after writing his memoir in Tok Pisin. Christine helped Fr Harry Moore translate the manuscript into English and after which she edited it, to publish When the Garamuts Beat—A Memoir Of Fifty Years In Bougainville, available through her website.
In between short stories, blogs, and a biography on someone who lived on Coochiemudlo Island, a looming project for Christine is a memoir about growing up on cocoa and copra plantations in the New Guinea Islands from the 1950s to the 1970s. This story will deal with culture, politics and race, during Australia’s colonial administration.
Christine’s website: www.leonardstories.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christine.leonard.writer
Instagram as Christine_leonardstories
Bernadette was born in Beaudesert, now part of the Scenic Rim Regional Council, in 1957 and enjoyed an idyllic childhood living on the family farm at Round Mountain, near where Cannon Creek joins the Logan River.
She was educated at St Mary’s School Beaudesert and the local State High School, completing Senior in 1973. Afterwards, she accepted a position in the local branch of the Commonwealth Bank where she worked for almost ten years before her family grew. She and her husband, Mark, married in 1979 and have four daughters and four grandsons.
Bernadette has been a regular contributor to her local paper since childhood and enjoyed success in several writing competitions, including the Bi-centennial Commonwealth Youth Week ‘Message of Loyalty’ Prize in the Beaudesert Shire.
After leaving her bank employment to focus on family, Bernadette made time for a tertiary education. She undertook a Bachelor of Arts (Humanities) at Griffith University and graduated with First Class Honours in 1995, soon after returning to employment in the Australian Public Service. She worked for Defence, Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Australian Taxation Office, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs in various research, policy, advisory and management roles until her retirement at age 60.
Bernadette is a member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland) and is a keen researcher of local history. She has had historical pieces published, including in the Queensland Review; and more recently, in Scenic Rim Writers’ Piccabeen Press publication, Mystery, Murder and Mayhem. She is also a member of the Queensland Writers Centre and looks forward to further developing her creative writing skills in retirement. Other interests include travelling, re-learning French, playing word games, restoring vintage furniture, and following the stock market.
Julie has been writing all her life. It’s still her favourite occupation. She loves learning and has studied all forms of writing and has conducted workshops at home in Australia and during overseas postings. Her work has been published in various collections of short stories. She writes articles, recipes and opinion pieces for various magazines and has worked as an editor for several publishers. She writes short stories and poetry and is working on a cookbook and a novel.
Julie lives in Boonah in the beautiful Scenic Rim and often visits Brisbane to attend concerts, theatre and galleries. She has been actively involved with the local cultural foundation and helped organise the annual Boonah Writers Festival. She is retired from her most recent work as cultural centre manager.
Food, cooking and writing have been important in her life for leisure and work. She is also a keen reader, traveller, gardener and wildlife watcher.
Indrani Ganguly was born of Bengali-speaking parents in Lucknow, India and lived in many different parts of the country. Her parents imbued her with a strong sense of Indian and world history and culture and a great appreciation of diversity in all its forms.
Indrani studied English Honours and sociology in India and did her Ph.D. on the impact of British occupation on revolution and reform in West Bengal from the Australian National University. The thesis was awarded a publishing grant from the Indian Council of Social Science Research and published as The Social History of a Bengal Town, 1985.
In 1990, Indrani married an Australian of Dutch origin with whom she lives in Brisbane. They have a son and daughter and a grandson. Her extended family now includes members from six religions and an equal number of languages who live in many countries around the world.
Since migrating to Australia in 1990, Indrani has worked in academia, government and non-government organisations. She has been a volunteer Committee Member in many community organisations which have provided a range of perspectives on Australia’s diverse communities.
Throughout this period, Indrani has continued pursuing academic and creative writing, which draws on her experiences of living and working in India and Australia. Indrani has also been part of a performing group called United by Pen, which brought together writers and musicians from diverse backgrounds. While the group has dispersed, some of the members remain friends and they are always happy to support each other’s achievements.
After retiring from full-time in 2018, Indrani joined the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Queensland and is working on contributing more to the writers’ groups (including the Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland and the Society of Women Writers of Queensland) of which she is Treasurer. She is also involved in other community activities, assisting a women’s refuge to get support in cash and kind and promoting women’s achievements through community events and journals.
In 2015, Indrani put together an anthology of her stories, poems and articles called In My Father’s House which was launched at her 25th wedding anniversary in Brisbane. She recently published her first novel The Rose and the Thorn in 2019. She has started the research for the sequel.
Reading in three languages (English, Bengali and Hindi), travel, theatre and cinema, enjoying different cuisines and engaging with people from diverse backgrounds are Indrani’s other interests.
Trudy has been writing seriously since the 1990s with short stories, book reviews, articles and some poems published in anthologies, magazines, and newspapers. During the past 30 plus years she has worked as an independent publisher and editor, taught creative writing, and facilitated workshops in writing, editing, and publishing.
After graduating from university as a mature-aged student, Trudy began to work in the Arts community of Western Australia, serving on the Joondalup (WA) Cultural Advisory Committee and as State Literature Officer of Western Australia in 1995-97. For her services to The Arts in that state, she received an Australia Day Award in 1996. She is passionate about helping writers achieve their writing goals.
Relocating from the Toowoomba region to a village in the Noosa hinterland in 2017, Trudy began writing her memoirs and to date three of these have been published. A collection of her short stories was published in 2020 and she is currently working on a novella and continues writing short fiction.
Trudy is a voracious reader and is a member of three book discussion groups where she gets to share her love of literature with like-minded people. She has been involved with the Women Writers in WA and Qld since 1989, serving in both states on committee in various roles. Hooked on travel from the time she first left home at aged 18, Trudy has explored most of Australia and many parts of the world.
Di was born in Adelaide in South Australia. While an enthusiastic learner, she was a keen Girl Guide, meeting with Lady Baden Powell and later earning the Queen’s Guide Award.
A teaching career is what Di wanted when at school – but instead, she embarked on a nursing career in her late teens and trained as a nurse in Mt Gambier, South Australia.
After her marriage, the family moved around Australia, so she has worked in hospitals in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. As well she was a medical representative, shopping centre marketing manager, art gallery owner and more – often holding two or more positions at a time.
Di completed a degree in Adult and Vocational Teaching at Griffith University in 2002, working in the training industry. At last, she was a teacher! In 2008, Di embarked on a career teaching English to students at universities in China and South Korea.
In 2012 she graduated from Swinburne University with a Master of Arts (Writing) and then set out on a solo drive around Australia taking five months to complete the journey, taking thousands of photographs and visiting many interesting historical destinations in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In 2020 she graduated as an instructor from the Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies, in the USA.
She founded the Writers of Wynnum Manly and The Bayside Women in Business, is a member of the Queensland Writers Centre and is past president of the Society of Women Writers Qld. (2017/18, 2018/19) She was a member of the International Society of Obituary Writers. She is currently on the management committee of the Older Women’s Network Qld.
Di is a Senior Writer for WeekendNotes.com and writes content for a number of websites. Di has many interests including photography, bamboo, life story writing, travelling, housing for senior solo women, and more.
She shares her stories as a speaker on topics, including Life Story Writing, Living in China, Writing your Own Obituary and Writing Topics.
Website – www.dihill.com.au
Virginia began writing in high school and was first published in the Brisbane State High School Year book, 1966.
In 1976 her story ‘The Enchanted Valley’, a story about Fraser Island in the future, was published in the QIT magazine, Unit 76.
In the 70’s and 80’s Virginia’s short stories were published in ‘Me’ magazine.
As Public Relations Officer for Beenleigh Air Sea Rescue, she wrote a weekly column in the Albert &Logan News.
Virginia is a member of Byron Writers Festival, Brisbane Writers Centre, Brisbane Writers Festival and The Society of Women Writers. She is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Fellowship of Australian Writers Qld.
In 2014 she began a 52 Week Flash Fiction Challenge on Facebook. Her first book ‘FlashFiction Volume One is a compilation of these stories. The book was recently launched at the Cleveland Lions Community Centre, to wide acclaim.
“They say the best examples of a fine Chianti are a visceral tasting experience; an intense sense of place developing with just a single sip. The same can be said of this collection of flash fiction shorts.” Review by Dimity Powell – Children’s author.
Her style is emotive and evocative, demonstrating her love for the written word.
‘For me writing is about the words, how they come together, where they take the reader. The art of good Flash Fiction is to deliver a subtle message in the least amount of words. I believe my book has achieved this.’
Virginia’s Website – www.inkblurb.com
Facebook – Virginia’s Inkblurb
Sue is a photographer by profession and has worked for various newspapers to which she continues to contribute the odd article and photographs.
Her writing mainly revolves around essays, usually biographical in nature; she has a large family hence no shortage of subject matter!
Whilst living in a small country town she produced, wrote and choreographed plays and pantomimes for school children. Wherever she has lived she has been involved in amateur dramatics – nerve-wracking but stimulating!
She is currently a guide at the Queensland Art Gallery and is involved in other voluntary work.
She was educated in NSW and Victoria, and attained a B.A. (Hons) and M.A. (Lit).
Writing in English, came late into Helga’s life. After working for forty five years as a draftsman with painting as hobby, it was time to do something new. She started writing and illustrating children’s stories. Then came her first and self-published novella, Brisbane, Bach and Brandenburg—Hunt for the Seventh Concerto.
After joining Fairfield Writers she contributed to their five Anthologies, with stories and cover designs.
Joining the Society of Women Writers Queensland, gave her another boost into creativity. Two more books were the result: Pixels—Short Stories, and a novel, Angela and Her Boys.
Most of her works were self-published in conjunction with Rainbow Works Pty Ltd, and launched at the Fairfield Garden Library.
Joan was born in Malta in 1931 when ‘Britannia ruled the waves’ and her father was part of the Grand Fleet. She was evacuated to England in 1939 and spent her school years in Surrey, England. She migrated to Australia as a $10 Pom in 1952. From the suburbs of Melbourne Joan ventured to the Great Barrier Reef as a hostess on Heron Island, and then continued on to Darwin where she met and married John (Jack) Turnour, the rice agronomist at Humpty Doo. Together they pioneered 3000 hectares, first with horticulture and a banana plantation, into a thriving pasture seed and cattle property. In 1970 they left the Territory and explored the Top End and the East Coast with their four children. They settled in Conondale where Jack established a cattle property for Sydney investors which later became the permaculture village of Crystal Waters.
In 1973 Jack joined an Aid Team in Samar, a poor province in the Philippines, and for the next twenty five years continued in both The Philippines and Indonesia. Joan put the two oldest children into boarding school and home-schooled her two youngest. In 1983 to improve her Indonesian language she enrolled in an Associate Diploma of Arts (Asian Studies) by distance education with the Darling Downs Institute. This involved assignments and her writing career commenced. During her final years in Manila Joan wrote for the expatriate paper and started her autobiography.
Upon her return in 1995 Joan joined SWWQ. In 2005 she was elected President and to mark the 30th anniversary of the Society coordinated the anthology ‘Behind the Faces’. SWWQ received a grant to cover costs of the book launch with 200 guests at Lennon’s Hotel in November 2006. Together with Corinne Soda, Joan convened the first Retreat at Bribie Island. She put the Society online with a web page and with the help of Di Hill started the blog. Together with Elli Housden she also arranged poetry workshops.
Joan published the first half of her autobiography in 2011. Unfortunately, her husband suffered a stroke and because he could no longer climb stairs she was forced to sell the house. They moved to a retirement village at Noosaville. Joan came down to meetings in 2012, taking the train from Nambour, untl it became too difficult. She maintains her membership of this Society. Joan is now at the publishing stage of the second part of her autobiography covering her expatriate years.
Joan’s husband died in July 2016 and she was greatly touched when three members attended his funeral service. This confirmed her belief that the Society brings women together for more than writing workshops and fosters lasting friendships.
A Late Bloomer.
She was born in the quiet and peaceful Wye Valley of England where her school-teacher Mum had been evacuated from the Blitz in London. Sue loved school and enjoyed most of the eight schools she went to, including two army schools in the Middle East Land Forces prior to the Suez Crisis evacuation.
School number seven was a Girls Grammar School in Kent, and that was where, at age 13, school stopped being fun for Sue. She had always been a keen reader but at that school she found it impossible to parlay her love of reading into the ability to write an essay. She failed GCE ‘O’ level (Junior exam to you) in English Language and English Literature. Her father was not a little displeased that she could pass French (and Maths) but not her own native language! Sue passed English the following year when it was mixed with shorthand and typing at the start of her working career.
Two years with IBM in London and then came Australia, marriage, children, divorce – no time for anything but kids and work.
Sue’s writing became business writing. Continuing to study while working and raising a family Sue did a BA at UQ majoring in English then followed it up with an MBA at Griffith. By this time she was working with a software company, training users and writing the manuals.
Writing for fun started with the idea that one’s (by now grown) children actually don’t know much about their own history and they might want to someday. Then came that “I need to write about that” notion and the joining of SWWQ where participation in a Postal Magazine group encouraged her to learn from other writers.
Sue volunteers at Braille House where she is one of a team of people who transcribe text into braille. This activity means that she can do something she feels is really useful at the same time as reading all types of materials including books in all sorts of genres for all age groups.
Mocco was born in Cologne, Germany. After surviving World War II and being captured by the Russian forces, she escaped with her family to the West. She migrated to Australia in1958 with her husband. They settled in Darwin NT. Mocco wrote in the early years in Australia in German until she mastered English. In 1967 her first poem was published in The Territorian.
Since then she has been widely published in Literary Anthologies, Newspapers (Sydney Morning Herald) Magazines (The Bulletin) and Literary Journals (Redoubt). She has won many prizes and awards for her poetry, short stories and articles. Her latest award was 1st prize in the Eaglehawk Dahlia national poetry competition 2017.
Mocco moved to Queensland in 1972. Since then, she has been active in the Queensland Writing Scene with performance readings, creating a group of Multicultural Writers and in 1980 founded the Queensland Branch of “The Society of Women Writers” together with the late Marjorie Wilke.
Her interest in children’s stories came to fruition when she wrote a series of 12 books about a cat called “Miss Applebee” and a dog ‘Mr. Funnyface”. The Miss Applebee stories were published in the children’s magazine of The Australia Times.
Mocco has 10 published books to her credit:
Published by the SWWQ: “Jacaranda Time”.
Published by Boolarong Press: “She is a Cat” “With open Arms” “Reflections on Crystal Water” and “Fly Spirit Bird Fly”.
Published by Interactive Publications: “Love Falls in Love with Love” “Of Loving and Sensualities” and “Australia Images and Inspiration”.
Self-published: “The Beating of Wings” and “Juxtapositions”.
Her memoir “Bloody Bastard Beautiful” was published by the Historical Society of N.T. in July 2017. After the first print run had run out within 6 months BLOODY BASTARD BEAUTIFUL was republished by Boolarong Press in Brisbane in November 2017.
Mocco still has a large body of work ready for publication. She writes in English and German.
Patty is retired and spends her time between Brisbane and Maleny.
She has recently published her memoir, “Growing Up, Patty – a Memoir of a Marriage.” This story continues on from her first memoir, “Growing up, Rocky.”
Patty has always written.
Apart from memoir, she also enjoys poetry and has published 2 collections: “The Poetry of Patty Beechem, The Light Between Breath” and “These Days I Live in Brissy.”
Her poetry has been published in the international magazine, “Prism”, winning several awards.
Patty has also been an active member of the Beerwah Writers Group for the past 8 years.
Jenny Woolsey grew up in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, and has written stories for as long as she can remember. Born with a rare craniofacial syndrome and living with low vision, writing stories, poetry and reading books were her escape.
She dedicated 25 years to Primary School teaching, where creative writing was her favourite subject. In 2009, Jenny wrote a memoir piece for the Brisbane Mater Hospital’s centenary anthology, ‘Mater’s 100 Stories’.
Jenny left the classroom in 2014 due to burnout. She studied creative writing and joined the Strathpine Writers Group and Write Links. Domestic violence, mental health, disability, and differences are her areas of interest.
In 2016, she released her debut novel, ‘Ride High Pineapple,’ which was endorsed by the Children’s Craniofacial Association (USA). She followed it with seven more middle-grade/YA novels. Her story, ‘Simon Sees’ (2022), was endorsed by Guide Dogs Australia and was shortlisted for the 2024 Forevability Awards.
In 2024, Jenny’s personal development book and part memoir, ‘Be Weirdly Wonderful! Embrace your differences’ (endorsed by Face Equality International) hit the shelves.
Jenny has dabbled in writing short stories and has been published in 22 anthologies. These stories have received honourable mentions, been long-listed for the Sydney Hammond Memorial Prize and have been included in Amazon best sellers.
Jenny has appeared on Channel Nine and in national magazines. She is a mentor for the Accessible Writers Program, on the diversity subcommittee at the Queensland Writers Centre and ran the Moreton Bay Region Local Writer Meet and Greets and Book Feasts, as well as Writing Fridays until recently.
When Jenny’s not writing, she is the carer for her disabled daughter and heavily involved in Special Olympics. She also loves to speak at events, create pottery and cuddle her pooch, Smokey.
Facebook and Instagram – /jenny woolsey author
Email jenny@jennywoolsey.com
Raelene has been involved in the writing community in Brisbane since 2012. Her short stories have been published in local and national anthologies. Her creative writing studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast have given her a broad interest across many genres. She enjoys science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, biography, creative non-fiction, and poetry.
She loves to connect with other writers through workshops, retreats and seminars, and to encourage new writers on their journey. To this end she facilitates a local writing group in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. When she is not working on university assessments or writing her steampunk dragon fantasy, she enjoys creative journalling, multi-media art, a brisk walk and coffee with friends.
Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PurtillWriter/