About me
The backstory …
Some writers say they'd never even thought about writing a book until a great idea tapped them on the shoulder and refused to be ignored, and others will tell you they’ve dreamt about it their whole life.
I am firmly in the latter camp. It’s something I’ve dreamt about forever, but that was as far as I got. Just the dreaming. Not so much the writing part of it. But then, a few years ago, the trifecta hit. I turned forty (which at the time felt like a monumental giddy-up), then six weeks after that we had our third baby, and a few sleepless weeks after that, old mate Covid came to town.
So, I did what all sensible people locked down in a too-small house with three kids under five would do – I started writing my way out of it.
Fast forward a bit …
I’ve won and placed in competitions spanning Australia, America and New Zealand and my short stories have been published in three anthologies. My debut novel, Better than the Real Thing , will be published by HQ/HarperCollins in December 2025 (seriously!) and I’m represented by Samuel Bernard at Zeitgeist Agency.
My stories follow relatable characters as they find their way through life and love in their forties. I hope they make you laugh and cry and that you feel like you’re hanging out with friends as you turn the pages.
I live in Melbourne’s Inner West where the creative vibes are strong, the cafes are many and the coffee is good. My partners in crime are my three young children, an accidental cat, and my leading man, who gave me a laptop for my fortieth birthday and said (probably in a much nicer way) ‘maybe it’s time to stop talking about it and just do it.’ I did, and so far it’s turning out pretty well!
You can read about my writing awards here and if you enjoy the occasional book recommendation or would like to follow along with my writing progress you can find me on Instagram at @brookecrawford_writer.
There's more ...
I live in Melbourne’s Inner West where the creative vibes are strong, the cafes are many and the coffee is good. My partners in crime are my three young children, an accidental cat and my leading man, who gave me a laptop for my fortieth birthday and said (probably in a much nicer way) ‘stop talking about it and do it.’
​When I’m not writing, mumming or staring balefully at a mountain of washing, I run my own real estate copywriting business, Abode Copy.
I’ve done lots of different jobs, which I used to think was a sign of flakiness but now choose to view as a rich source of material. I’ve worked in PR, creative account management, magazine advertising, behind bars (not of the prison variety), and in fashion and music retail – Sanity in 2000 was the height of cred, I promise. I’ve coordinated volunteer programs in Laos and India, taught ESL in Spain, and was a primary school teacher for a few years before my babies were born. I was also a cover band singer before I was old enough to know better, but we’ll leave that where it belongs – in the graveyard of my questionable life decisions. It’s a pretty crowded place. But like I said – material.
Memberships
Romance Writers of Australia
Romance Writers of New Zealand
Queensland Writers Centre
Write Squad
Bad Writers Club
Courses
Graduate Certificate of Professional Writing (Deakin University)
Josephine Moon’s ‘Novel In A Year’ course
Josephine Moon’s ‘Short Story’ course
Queensland Writers Centre ‘Novelists Bootcamp’
Mentorship with Australian author, writing coach and podcaster, Pamela Cook