About Lisa
I spent my childhood in Fiji and my teenage years in Brisbane. Following a stint as a barmaid on the Barrier Reef I became a wilderness guide in the Snowy Mountains. I then moved on to work in environmental communication. I now live (and surf, and write) on the north coast of New South Wales.
Back in the distant past, I started writing. Many practice novels later, my manuscript was selected for the Varuna HarperCollins Program. This book, ‘Liar Bird’ was published by HarperCollins in 2012, followed by ‘Sex, Lies and Bonsai’ in 2013. My third novel, ‘Arkie’s Pilgrimage to the Next Big Thing’ was published by Random House in 2015. In 2018, my first Young Adult novel 'Paris Syndrome' was published by HarperCollins and 'Melt', a romantic comedy about climate change, was published by Lacuna. 'Sex, Lies and Bonsai' also made its international debut with HarperCollins in the US, Canada and UK.
In 2020, my second Young Adult novel, 'The Girl with the Gold Bikini' hit the streets with Wakefield Press, and was short-listed in two categories of the Davitt Awards. 'Paris Syndrome' also came out in the US, UK and Canada with HarperCollins. In 2021, 'Trouble is My Business', the sequel to 'The Girl with the Gold Bikini', came out and 'Arkie's Pilgrimage to the Next Big Thing' was optioned for film by Byron Bay production company ACM Films.
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I have also written a radio play, 'Baddest Backpackers', which was produced for ABC Radio National, articles for The Age, The Guardian, and Griffith Review and many short stories, including my latest in the Big Issue Fiction Edition. I have a PhD in creative writing.
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