These are some of my achievements, both writing-related and non-writing related:

Writing Achievements

Won prizes in some literary competitons.
Received certificates from a few other literary competitions.
Had an article published on the front page of the North Side Courier.
Reported on the Sydney Writers Festival for Festival News twice.
Read out one of my short stories at an anthology launch.
Took part in a blog interview for the Hopscotch anthology.
Mentored a student for a journalism subject.
Have run Best of Times short story competitions twice a year since 2006.
Worked as a contractor for the Federal Publishing Company for a time.
Had one of my short stories mentioned in the back cover blurb on a Short and Twisted anthology.

Other Achievements

Taught myself computer programming when I was 15.
Ran Wild Thoughts BBS for a few years.
Worked as a computer programmer, webmaster, computer laboratory assistant and Internet Assessor.
Was part of the 2014 Guinness World Record for the largest group blind date.
Created my own three minute short film (a comedy).
Had a few photos published with articles.
Won a school running race when I was eight.
Was promoted from the intermediate to advanced science class in year 10 of high school.
Received the second highest grade in the school in year 11 Human Biology.
Took Channel 9's IQ test in 2003 and had a result of IQ 125 (top 10% of the population).
Went on a ghost tour in Port Arthur, Tasmania.
Completed the City to Surf fun run numerous times.
Completed the 2km Shark Island Swimming Race once.
Climbed the hill that the Hollywood sign is on.
Scuba-dived in Hawaii.
Snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef.
Went tobogganning and tubing in an indoor snow park in Dubai.
Went on a safari in the Krugar National Park, South Africa.
Went on a guided walk from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves, NSW.

About Me

I've been writing ever since I was six years old. I've written novels, novellas, children's books, short stories, articles etc. I've had some of them published, and self-published most of them in ebooks on Amazon.com.

I taught myself computer programming when I was 15 years old, did it as a hobby for years, ran a BBS (Wild Thoughts BBS) for a few years in the early 90s, studied a computer science degree, and worked in various IT jobs: computer programmer, webmaster, computer laboratory assistant, Internet Assessor.

I've worked in a variety of other jobs too (and still do).

My Qualifications

Master of Arts in Professional Writing from UTS
Graduate Diploma in Journalism from UTS
Bachelor of Science (Computing) with distinction from UWS
Certificate Level 3 in Public Administration
Year 12 Certificate of Secondary Education and Tertiary Entrance Exam

Short Courses and Workshops I've Completed

Time to Write, WEA
Fiction writing, WEA
Writing For Yourself, Tuart College
Fiction writing, Tuart College
Creative writing, TAFE
Writing Pitches
Writing and Selling Feature Articles, NSW Writers Centre
Unblock the block, NSW Writers Centre
How to Get Published

Literary Competition Successes

2022: Regional winner of WestWords Living Stories 'Things Unsaid' competition for the short story 'Saturday Dreams'.
2018: Long-listed for the So Bad It's Good competition for the short story 'Eating Mango Sandwiches in Nigeria'.
2017: Short-listed for the Words of Wyndham Writing Competition for the short story 'Robbery'.
2017: Third Place in City of Rockingham Short Story Awards for the short story 'Parrot Lady'.
2017: ZineWest Commendation Certificate for the short story 'Danger: Link Box'.
2014: Joint ZineWest Editors' Award for the short story 'Email from Azbekhistan'.
2010: Special Commendation in the Scarlet Stiletto Awards for the short story 'Email from Azbekhistan'.
2009: Won the innovation category of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards for the narrative poem 'The Nun and the Assassin\The Assassin and the Nun'.
2004: Highly Commended in the Katharine Susannah Prichard Sci-Fi\Fantasy Awards for the short story 'Virtual Reality'.

I've Had Fiction Published In:

Anthologies: Hopscotch, NWG Anthology, Short and Twisted, ZineWest, Words of Wyndham 2017 competition anthology, Eve's Gift and Other Stories, One Surviving Poem, Between Dusk and Dawn, 41 Arguments Avant La Lettre, 9000 Miles Away, Stay A While, Expression, Living Stories, Luft, Ambiguous Loss, Dancing Dragons.

Literary Magazines: Westerly, 21D Magazine, Narrator, Ripples, The Write Angle, Tamba.

E-Publications: Broadkill Review.

Websites: Anti-SF, Books Online, H2G2, National Young Writers' Festival, Pixel Papers, RMSED, The Radii, NWG Pop-Up Zine, Literary Yard.

I've Had Non-Fiction Published In:

Anthologies: NWG Anthology, Polestar.

Newspapers: Auburn Review, Australian Senior, Festival News, Inner West Courier, North Side Courier, Parramatta Advertiser (letters to the editor), Parramatta Sun, Sydney Morning Herald (Column 8), The Precinct, Wentworth Courier.

Magazines and Newsletters: Athena, Australian Traveller, Capture, Fine Print, Money (letters to the editor), Newswrite, NZ Author, Screen Education, Stiletto, The Full Bench, Vertigo (poster).

E-Publications: H2G2 (The Post), Newsbite, NSW Writers' Centre blog, Partners in Crime e-newsletter, UTS e:Connect, UTS Fine Print, Village Voice e-newsletter, Writers Connect, Writing 4 Success e-newsletter.

Websites: Australian Women's Book Review, Festival News, H2G2, IMDB, Journal of Politics and Culture, Newsday, Photozo, Pure Travel, Reportage, The Chimes, The Radii, Thylazine, H2G2, Village Voice.

Writing, Editing and Proofreading Work:

Sub-edited and categorised news stories, and wrote news stories, for a news website.
Edited a resume for a Senior Systems Engineer/Service Delivery Manager.
Proofread a self-published poetry anthology.
Wrote a scholarship application letter for a cookery course.
Edited document templates for a travel tour operator.
Edited an SEO service proposal.
Edited an MBA research proposal.
Edited a blog entry on gestational diabetes.
Wrote a letter to a doctor on behalf of a patient.
SEOd an article on alkaline powder for a website.
Edited a health and wellbeing service proposal.
Wrote selection criteria statement for an application for a marketing position.
Collated and edited information for an associate professor application.
Formatted and proofread a playscript.
Edited a resume and wrote selection criteria for an administration\customer service position.
Edited podcast scripts and documents for a business broker website.
Proofread a gratitude journal manuscript.
Wrote an ad for a petsitting service.
Compiled summaries of news stories.
Edited a resume and cover letter for a service desk team leader.
Wrote articles on locations and events for a real estate website.
Proofread an immuneology research project proposal.
Did peer tutoring for a uni journalism subject.
Writing content and providing layout suggestions for a clothing website.
Wrote ads to sell items on eBay for others.
Wrote Facebook status updates for a social media marketing business.
Read and commented on ebooks.
Edited a document on learning theories.
Typed and proofread transcripts from recordings for an overseas business.
Proofread content on a personal development webpage.
Proofread webpages.
Checked a new job search website and provided written feedback.
Wrote two articles, on the Myers Brigg Type Indicator and the Socratic Method.
Read and reviewed an ebook on corporate culture.

My Social Media Accounts