Lesley Synge – writer & poet, teacher & mentor
Lesley’s particular interest is in the lives of women and the human search for connectedness and authentic existence. (See WORKS)
Short fiction in Cleo, Hecate, Imago and Transnational Literature among others.
Short non-fiction in Australian Women’s Book Review, Communion, Griffith Review, Hecate, Queensland History Journal, Plumwood Mountain, Q Weekend, Queensland Review, Queensland Teachers Journal, Social Alternatives, The Island Review, Transnational Literature, Writing Queensland
Reviews in Australian Women’s Book Review, Courier-Mail, Imago, Social Alternatives, Transnational Literature, Writing Queensland
Grants from Arts Queensland, Australia Council, Regional Arts Development Fund (Caloundra City Council), University of Queensland Graduate School
Awards include: Winner Ravello Tales, 2018; Arts Central Queensland Lorna McDonald Essay Prize 2018, IP [Interactive Press] Fiction Award 2002 & R Carson Gold Short Story Award 1990.
Residencies in Kings Bridge Cottage Launceston, Varuna in Katoomba, & Ravello, Italy.
Teacher of writing. After a career as a high school teacher in her home state of Queensland & in London, Lesley began to teach writing. In 1996 she founded Real Life Stories writing workshops to specialise in lived experience. Lesley has helped people from all walks of life to value the stories of their lives – from Far North Queensland to the Gold Coast and ‘out west’. She has mentored new writers such as Bob Cleland, whose memoir about Papua New Guinea became Big Road, and Zen Master Sen Shin who published Essence of Mind. She has taught English in South Korea. Besides teaching writing workshops in numerous locations in Australia, she has presented in New Zealand and Italy.
Background: In 2001 she gained an MA Creative Writing from University of Queensland. In 2006 she founded Zing Stories, an educational & writing consultancy to consolidate her commitment to the stories of diverse people across the community. A founding member of Queensland Writers Centre, Oral History Association & Black Possum Publishing Co-op (Maleny, Qld), her early credits are under the name Lesley Singh. She is a member of the Queensland Writers Centre, Australian Society of Authors and various history associations.