In our very first Member Profile we are highlighting journalist and author Jacquie Byron. As a member of Writers Victoria for more than 15 years, Jacquie says that her ongoing membership has offered her exposure to classes and events, opportunities to write for the newsletter, information on awards and grants and connection to other writers.
Read on to learn about Jacquie’s career so far, her writing advice and where you can find out more about her work.
About Jacquie Byron
As a professional writer – journalist, copywriter and publicist – for more than 20 years, Jacquie Byron has had the privilege of being a professional snoop, taking her trusty notebook or recorder into race cars (nerve-wracking), Ugandan IDP camps (heartbreaking), day spas (fragrant), New York knitting stores (messy) and more in search of the story, the selling point or the soundbite.
In 2015, Jacquie was awarded a Glenfern Fellowship and in 2016 her work, Trouble Sleeping, received a Highly Commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript.
Now represented by Grace Heifetz of A4 Literary, Jacquie’s first novel – Happy Hour – was published through Allen & Unwin in September 2021. Since then, the book has been long listed for the Indie Book of the Year Awards and voted into the Better Reading Top 100. In September 2022, Happy Hour was the official title for the Australian and New Zealand public library program, Together We Read. In 2023, Jacquie was awarded a 12-month artistic residency at Billilla mansion in Brighton through Bayside City Council.
Jacquie is currently working on her next manuscript.
Jacquie’s writing advice
Jot ideas down or voice record them the moment they come to you. You think you’ll remember them. You often won’t. Sometimes the best thing I find is ‘talking out’ an idea as a voice note on my phone or iPad and then writing it down in a more polished format later.
You can learn more about Jacquie’s work over on her website here, or by following her over on Instagram!
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