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she writes thoughtfully, carefully, and with force  Nigel Rothfels, The Birth of the Modern Zoo

her language is straightforward and unpretentious. She constructs a powerful indictment against the forces that contributed to a magnificent animal’s demise  Jonathan Balcombe, The Inner Lives of Animals

her understated style of writing reveals connections in perfect sentences that convey volumes  Carol Gigliotti, The Creative Lives of Animals 

 

I am a non-fiction writer living on the beautiful island of Lutruwita/Tasmania.

My books and essays blend rigorous accuracy with vibrant narratives, as I express my  insights on the natural world.

Paper Tiger: How Pictures Shaped the Thylacine tells the harrowing story of the animals who served as models for illustrations and how these images contributed to the extinction of that iconic species.

From thylacines and dodos to tiny insects, from peregrine falcons to my beloved cat, Sweetie. I write about other animals in literature, science, multi-media representations and around my inner city home─ backed by twenty-five years of academic research.

Read my essays in Australian Zoologist, Society and Animals, recollections: Journal of the National Museum of Australia and in collections such as Leonardo’s Choice: Genetic Technologies and Animals, Animal Death and Lives Beyond Us.

Look for my articles on the environment and history of Tasmania in print and online magazine Forty South Tasmania to see the trajectory of my writing life.

Access free online magazine Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture (68) to read my article “Performing the Ragged Garden”, about the garden I established on the corner of my inner-city apartment block.

Work-in-progress             

My manuscript-in-preparation is a book of personal essays about my encounters with animals, living and lost. The animals I have known in life and representation, at home and in the wider world.

Latest News

Photostory

March 16, 2026|

I have just received the limited-edition print copy of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture no 68 Autumn, 2025 with my essay “Performing the Ragged Garden” on page 20. It’s such beautiful production and I’m thrilled my work is included in it.

Photostory

October 18, 2025|

There's lots of writing going on in my study at the moment. Read two flash non-fiction pieces: one about my father, another a 'creative' account of an eye operation I didn't expect . . .

Photostory

May 27, 2025|

The tree outside my windows is like a member of the family. It was a big, lush Silver Maple, almost brushing our windows with the tips of its branches until it was brutally pruned.

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