Lusi Austin / Artlands 2023

My love of words really began in childhood and over the years has taken many forms.

I graduated from university with a BA in Drama Performance and have written and performed many scripts including a piece I wrote to be performed in situ for the 75th anniversary of the Cowra POW Breakout.

My affair with words continued throughout the years that I homeschooled our 5 children. Reading aloud a wide variety of texts every day to our kids continued to fuel my own passion for the written word.

As a singer songwriter, my word-love turned into lyrics for myEP 'Walking Contradiction' which was released in 2020 just before the first Covid Lockdown.

Shortly after this, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus. This has provided many challenges as I try to find ways to manage the symptoms in my body.

Putting down my guitar has meant I've had time to pick up my pen and write once more. My work was featured in Edition 2 of Kindling and Sage. Look out for upcoming pieces in Mona and on The Mighty too. 

I wrote, illustrated and self published my fiirst picture book 'Jack's Visit to Cowra' in December 2021. It is available as both an ebook and a hard cover copy. You can purchase a copy from the National Library Bookshop in Canberra. I have a novella and a stage play currently in the works which keep me busy.

My current writing projects include a novella (in the editing stage) an historical fiction work for young adults based on the story of the POW Breakout told from a young boy's perspective. It is due for release late 2023. I am also in the development stages of writing a 12 scene play with musical numbers again based on the Cowra POW Breakout. The play is called Intertwined.