I’ve spent a lifetime nourishing my imagination. My childhood was spent ‘away with the fairies’, reading and writing my little heart out.
My career took me from iconic Australian magazine titles Harpers Bazaar and The Australian Women’s Weekly to one of London’s leading communications agencies. Later, I headed up brand marketing teams for some of Australia’s best-loved brands.
Currently, as director of The Content(ed) Copywriter, I head up a team of Australia’s most talented content writers, helping brands marry stories with sales.
I believe that imagination can change the world, and I’m on a mission to help everyone – kids, grown-ups and businesses – nourish their imaginations so they can build empathy, resilience and connection.
I live in an extraordinarily sweet little village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. I have a Bachelor of Media and a Post Graduate Certificate in Writing and Literature. I spend my days shape-shifting between identities such as Business Owner, Co-Wrangler of Two Delightful and Head-Strong Little People, Publisher and Author, Baker of Sweet Treats and Licker of Bowls, Speed-Reader of Novels, and Wine Enthusiast.
You Two, You Two is my first children’s picture book, and will be published by Hachette in 2023.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
CYA made my life-long dream of being a published children's book author come true.
But first, let me back up a bit.
I self-published You Two, You Two in September 2021. I'd decided to self publish the book because I knew that usually, traditional publishing can take a very long time. I wanted to be able to hold this book in my hands while my two kids were still young enough to fit on my lap while I read it to them.
So I commissioned the wonderful Elin Matilda Andersson to create the illustrations, asked my friend and long-time collaborator Belinda Hubball to be the creative director, and I self published it. It did pretty well - it received the ABDA 2022 Best Designed Children's Illustrated Book Award, and was widely and very positively reviewed online and by influencers.
Then, I booked a manuscript review at the 2022 CYA Conference with the wonderful Kate Stevens at Hachette Australia. I had the opportunity to send her two manuscripts, so I sent the published pdf of You Two, You Two as one of the two manuscripts. I almost didn't send it, because I'd been told that publishers very rarely publish self-published books.
But Kate loved it! As soon as we saw each other on the CYA Zoom call, she absolutely raved about it. She immediately made me an offer on the book. That was in July 2022 - and I'm so delighted to share that You Two, You Two will be published by Hachette in March 2023!
According to Kate, it's one of the fastest ever publications she's seen of a children's picture book. It is an absolute dream come true and all made possible by CYA.
