About Me
Studies and Work
I completed a double degree in Arts/Science with a major in Chemistry and Honours in Indonesian. I then went to work at Museum Victoria. Melbourne Museum was a very nice place to work because I could visit Phar Lap at lunch times.
I’ve worked as a researcher for television quiz shows, verifying the questions are correct. Unfortunately I’m still terrible at trivia nights.
I now work as a librarian, which seems right.
Comedy
I started doing stand-up comedy when I entered Triple J’s Raw Comedy Competition and won the Victorian final. In 2006 I received a Brian Macarthy Memorial Award (Moosehead) for my show, Kathy Smith Goes to Maths Camp.
Writing
In 2006 I moved to Washington DC to be with my partner who moved there for work. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a job so I had a lot of spare time. DC has a lot of interesting museums and galleries and I visited them all, literally. After I spent an afternoon in a museum dedicated to revolutionary musketry I knew I needed to find something else to do. I’d always wanted to write a young adult novel, so I did. Loving Richard Feynman was published by University of Queensland Press in August 2009.
My next book Clara in Washington was published by University of Queensland Press in June 2011. It’s about a girl who has just finished Year 12 and moves to Washington DC, doesn’t have anything to do and then starts hanging out with a group of anarchists. This is not as autobiographical as it sounds.
My third book Stay Well Soon is about a girl who really wants a pony. Then her brother gets sick and she wants a pony even more.
As fast as I can was published by University of Queensland Press in 2020. It’s about a girl who dreams of going to the Olympics, as a competitor, but doesn’t know what sport she’ll excel at yet.
My first picture book, Granbad, illustrated by Peter Baldwin, was published in 2023. t’s about a family who want to save greater gliders and a grandfather who breaks the rules to do the right thing
Aussie STEM Stars
My biography on clinical scientist Creswell Eastman, is part of the Aussie STEM Stars series, the inspiring life-stories of some of Australia’s world-leading scientists and inventors.
As a boy, Creswell Eastman loved planes and was fascinated by how things work. He went on to become a doctor, researcher and a pilot, travelling to remote parts of the world and almost dying on a Tibetan mountain. His work on iodine deficiency has improved the lives of millions of people.