Passion - Writing...
Published Work
Stories from the Heart – Penning the Pandemic coedited with Jane Connolly 2020. It was published by
the Queensland Writer's Centre Stories From The Heart: Penning the Pandemic - You can access this story below.
| qwc_stories-from-the-heart.pdf |
An Anthology coedited with Jane Connolly, Jenny Adams and Tatia Power in 2022 - A Celebration of Continuous Quality, Holistic Healthcare in Camp Hill Over 75 Years.
Scope magazine - short stories and poems in several editions
Essay A Touch of Humanity - published in The Big Issue Oct 2021
Medicine Today - July 2022 Life on the Edge, March 2023 Beyond the Call of Duty, May 2023 The Home Visit, Bed 12 September 2023
MiNDFOOD magazine - multiple articles about women's health issues, mental health and current medial topics of interest
Writing Awards
Australian Writer’s Centre Furious Fiction
Short listed
October 2019 – The Road Less Travelled
January 2024 - The Boss
February 2024 - The Truth about the Tooth Fairy
June 2024 - A Beginning That Ends
Long listed
May 2019 Pomegranates
June 2019 The Secret
Jan 2020 Around the Globe with Mr Coney
May 2020 Last Breath
December 2020 Pa's Garden
June 2022 Saving Evangeline
June 2023 A Season of Hope
August 2024 The Other Side
September 2024 Still Life
Fiction Factory – UK
Long listed
May 2020 – The Road Home
April 2024 - A Star is Born
Fish Publishing - Flash Fiction
long listed
April 2021 - Too Late
short listed
April 2022 - The Kiss
Wow - Women on Writing
April 2021 - Endings
July 2021 - Magpies Warble
October 2021 - Black Man running
January 2023 - The Christmas Letter
Fellowship of Australian Writers Qld (FAWQ)
July 2021 - Too Late Commended
July 2021 - The Promise Highly Commended
August 2022 - The Appointment short listed
Eastwood Hills FAW
August 2021 - Black Man Running second place
August 2021 - The Wedding third place
Queensland Writer’s Centre
Right Left Write
Won
April 2020 – Second Chances
September 2020 – Pomegranates
January 2020 - Fight and Flight - included in Lockdown Diaries
May 2021 - The Big Voices of the Secret Poet's Society
September 2023 - Hide and Seek
Honorable mention
July 2020 – Too Late
Peter Hammond Short Story Competition
Long listed
October 2021 - Deadly Alliance
October 2022 - Knock, Knock
Short listed
Serpent River 2022 (Highly Commended) can purchase anthology from Hawkeye Publishing
Marj Wilkie Short Story Competition
Short listed
March 2022 - Final Breath
January 2023 - The Kiss
Not Quite Write - long listed
2023 - Longing for Home
2024 - The Arrival
2024 - Putting Affairs in Order
Gold Coast Short Story Competition 2023
2023 - The Good Mother - second place
2024 - Remembrance Day - short listed
Bridport Poetry 2023
The Passing -long listed
Hawkeye Manuscript Development Awards
2022 - A World of Silence long listed
2023 - The Truth about My Daughter - second place (publishing contract August 2023)
2024 - The Family - Long listed
Novel Writing
Her first book Blood is Thicker Than Water, is a story about identity, family and finding the courage to not only stand up for who you are but to challenge long held prejudices.
Jo's second novel, A World of Silence, deals with the secrecy that often protects perpetrators of domestic violence. It long listed in the 2022 Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize.
Her third novel The Family, focuses on the resilience of a mother and daughter whose bond is deeply damaged by toxic religious and cultural agendas until, through courageous determination, they reclaim the truths stolen from them. It long listed in the 2023 Hawkeye Manuscript Development Award.
Her fourth novel, The Truth About My Daughter, a contemporary women's novel featuring two sisters navigating their love/hate relationship within a dysfunctional family placed second in the Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize and was launched on 14 September 2024.
She completed a fifth novel, 'A Good Woman,' featuring three generations of women who find themselves at a cross roads in their lives. A grandmother, a mother and a daughter are each forced to make difficult decisions that will complicate not only their own lives but the lives of loved ones.
At a lighthouse residency in Newcastle in June 2024, Jo completed a second draft of another novel, The Last Supper. It is about three woman, Juanita Peggy and Ilona who are approaching 80 and determined not to become frail or dependent on others. After the death of Peggy’s husband, whose final decade was lost to dementia, the three women plan to enjoy a year of doing whatever they please, ending with week of decadence enjoying good food and champagne somewhere beautiful. Following a Last Supper, they commit to making a final exit together.
Her novel, The Truth about My Daughter was released by Hawkeye publishing on 1 October 2024.
She has a publishing contract for A World of Silence.
Scope magazine - short stories and poems in several editions
Essay A Touch of Humanity - published in The Big Issue Oct 2021
Medicine Today - July 2022 Life on the Edge, March 2023 Beyond the Call of Duty, May 2023 The Home Visit, Bed 12 September 2023
MiNDFOOD magazine - multiple articles about women's health issues, mental health and current medial topics of interest
Writing Awards
Australian Writer’s Centre Furious Fiction
Short listed
October 2019 – The Road Less Travelled
January 2024 - The Boss
February 2024 - The Truth about the Tooth Fairy
June 2024 - A Beginning That Ends
Long listed
May 2019 Pomegranates
June 2019 The Secret
Jan 2020 Around the Globe with Mr Coney
May 2020 Last Breath
December 2020 Pa's Garden
June 2022 Saving Evangeline
June 2023 A Season of Hope
August 2024 The Other Side
September 2024 Still Life
Fiction Factory – UK
Long listed
May 2020 – The Road Home
April 2024 - A Star is Born
Fish Publishing - Flash Fiction
long listed
April 2021 - Too Late
short listed
April 2022 - The Kiss
Wow - Women on Writing
April 2021 - Endings
July 2021 - Magpies Warble
October 2021 - Black Man running
January 2023 - The Christmas Letter
Fellowship of Australian Writers Qld (FAWQ)
July 2021 - Too Late Commended
July 2021 - The Promise Highly Commended
August 2022 - The Appointment short listed
Eastwood Hills FAW
August 2021 - Black Man Running second place
August 2021 - The Wedding third place
Queensland Writer’s Centre
Right Left Write
Won
April 2020 – Second Chances
September 2020 – Pomegranates
January 2020 - Fight and Flight - included in Lockdown Diaries
May 2021 - The Big Voices of the Secret Poet's Society
September 2023 - Hide and Seek
Honorable mention
July 2020 – Too Late
Peter Hammond Short Story Competition
Long listed
October 2021 - Deadly Alliance
October 2022 - Knock, Knock
Short listed
Serpent River 2022 (Highly Commended) can purchase anthology from Hawkeye Publishing
Marj Wilkie Short Story Competition
Short listed
March 2022 - Final Breath
January 2023 - The Kiss
Not Quite Write - long listed
2023 - Longing for Home
2024 - The Arrival
2024 - Putting Affairs in Order
Gold Coast Short Story Competition 2023
2023 - The Good Mother - second place
2024 - Remembrance Day - short listed
Bridport Poetry 2023
The Passing -long listed
Hawkeye Manuscript Development Awards
2022 - A World of Silence long listed
2023 - The Truth about My Daughter - second place (publishing contract August 2023)
2024 - The Family - Long listed
Novel Writing
Her first book Blood is Thicker Than Water, is a story about identity, family and finding the courage to not only stand up for who you are but to challenge long held prejudices.
Jo's second novel, A World of Silence, deals with the secrecy that often protects perpetrators of domestic violence. It long listed in the 2022 Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize.
Her third novel The Family, focuses on the resilience of a mother and daughter whose bond is deeply damaged by toxic religious and cultural agendas until, through courageous determination, they reclaim the truths stolen from them. It long listed in the 2023 Hawkeye Manuscript Development Award.
Her fourth novel, The Truth About My Daughter, a contemporary women's novel featuring two sisters navigating their love/hate relationship within a dysfunctional family placed second in the Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize and was launched on 14 September 2024.
She completed a fifth novel, 'A Good Woman,' featuring three generations of women who find themselves at a cross roads in their lives. A grandmother, a mother and a daughter are each forced to make difficult decisions that will complicate not only their own lives but the lives of loved ones.
At a lighthouse residency in Newcastle in June 2024, Jo completed a second draft of another novel, The Last Supper. It is about three woman, Juanita Peggy and Ilona who are approaching 80 and determined not to become frail or dependent on others. After the death of Peggy’s husband, whose final decade was lost to dementia, the three women plan to enjoy a year of doing whatever they please, ending with week of decadence enjoying good food and champagne somewhere beautiful. Following a Last Supper, they commit to making a final exit together.
Her novel, The Truth about My Daughter was released by Hawkeye publishing on 1 October 2024.
She has a publishing contract for A World of Silence.