Liz Byrski
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Ann Byrski is an Australian writer
and journalist
.
in Lingfield, Surrey
, in 1960, Byrski furthered her education at the Crawley College of Further Education
(1960–61) and the Wall Hall College of Education (1973–74). Her first job was as a secretary
at a pest control
firm in Sussex
. Her journalism
career began when she started as a journalist in 1962 on the Horley Advertiser (part of Surrey Mirror Newspapers), in Horley, Surrey. She moved to Australia in 1981.
, The Australian
, The Age
, the San Francisco Chronicle
, the San Francisco Examiner, and The Dominion
(Wellington, NZ), Homes and Living, New Idea
, Cosmopolitan
, SkyWest
In-Flight, Building Magazine
, and Portfolio.
In 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996 she was a broadcaster and executive producer
at ABC 720 6WF
in Perth
. This period included co-presenting the Grapevine program with then-television newsreader
Peter Holland
. She was also an occasional book reviewer for the ABC.
In 1987 she was a panelist on the daily Channel 7
program Beauty and the Beast
.
She has won several awards for her journalism, including the Radio Prize at the 1996 WA Media Awards
and the CSIRO WA Award for Excellence in Science Journalism in the same year, and Equal Opportunity Awards for Radio Journalism in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
From 1983 to 1989 she wrote the weekly Viewpoint column
in Perth’s Community Newspapers
group.
She has been an occasional guest presenter for the School of Isolated and Distance Education TV program Our Side Your Side.
She has also been a policy advisor to the Government of Western Australia
and is a past-President of the WA Women's Advisory Council to the Premier. Her past honorary positions include board memberships with the WA Alzheimer's Association and the Family Planning Association of WA.
Gang of Four was published in France
in 2007 as La bande des quarters by Les Presses de la Cite, and in Germany by Mohrbooks in 2008. Food, Sex & Money will be published in France by Presses de la Cite in 2009 and in Germany in 2010.
and course coordinator for Professional Writing & Publishing at Curtin University of Technology
.
From 1996 to 2003 she was an Adjunct Teaching Fellow at Curtin, teaching Professional Writing, Journalism and Media Ethics.
From 1984 to 1988 she was a sessional tutor in print journalism at the-then Western Australia Institute of Technology
(now called Curtin University of Technology
).
; the Australian Society of Authors
; and the National Writers’ Union
(USA).
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Biography
After graduating from Notre Dame ConventLingfield Notre Dame School
Lingfield Notre Dame School is an independent school situated in the English county of Surrey, for students aged from two and a half to eighteen. It is co-educational and in total has approximately 800 students...
in Lingfield, Surrey
Lingfield, Surrey
Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is most famous for its horse racing course, Lingfield Park. Lingfield lies to the east of a section of the A22 which runs between Godstone and East Grinstead...
, in 1960, Byrski furthered her education at the Crawley College of Further Education
Central Sussex College
Central Sussex College is a college of further education in West Sussex. It has campuses across West Sussex and offers courses ranging from Sixth form and Adult education to undergraduate courses through partnerships with universities.-History:...
(1960–61) and the Wall Hall College of Education (1973–74). Her first job was as a secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
at a pest control
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
firm in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. Her journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
career began when she started as a journalist in 1962 on the Horley Advertiser (part of Surrey Mirror Newspapers), in Horley, Surrey. She moved to Australia in 1981.
Journalism
As a freelance journalist Byrski’s work has appeared in the Australian Financial Review, The West AustralianThe West Australian
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
, The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, the San Francisco Examiner, and The Dominion
The Dominion (Wellington)
The Dominion was a daily morning newspaper based in Wellington, New Zealand.In 2002 it merged with The Evening Post, the other Wellington daily, to form the Dominion Post....
(Wellington, NZ), Homes and Living, New Idea
New Idea
New Idea is a long-running Australian weekly magazine published by Pacific Magazines and aimed at women.-History:The magazine was first published in 1902 by Fitchett Bros. Southdown Magazines purchased Fitchett Bros...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, SkyWest
SkyWest
SkyWest Airlines, Inc. is a North American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, flying to 159 cities in 40 U.S. states, 6 Canadian Provinces, and 1 city in Mexico. The airline serves as a feeder airline, operating under contract with various major carriers...
In-Flight, Building Magazine
Building (magazine)
Building is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as The Builder in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed Building in 1966 as it is still known today. Building is the only UK...
, and Portfolio.
In 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996 she was a broadcaster and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
at ABC 720 6WF
720 ABC Perth
720 ABC Perth is a radio station located in Perth, Western Australia broadcasting on 720 kHz on the AM band. The station is a member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Local Radio network.-History:...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. This period included co-presenting the Grapevine program with then-television newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
Peter Holland
Peter Holland
Peter Holland is a senior lecturer in the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, Western Australia He previously had a long and distinguished career as a broadcaster, interviewer and newsreader...
. She was also an occasional book reviewer for the ABC.
In 1987 she was a panelist on the daily Channel 7
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
program Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (talk show)
Beauty and the Beast is an Australian panel television show that has appeared in numerous versions since the early days of Australian television. The first version began in 1963 on the Seven Network with host Eric Baume as the "Beast". Baume was later replaced by presenters including John Laws,...
.
She has won several awards for her journalism, including the Radio Prize at the 1996 WA Media Awards
WA Media Awards
The WA Media Awards are presented annually by the Western Australian Journalists Association.The awards recognise outstanding work by Western Australian reporters, photographers, graphic designers, cartoonists, sub-editors, television camerapeople and other media workers.The awards are generally...
and the CSIRO WA Award for Excellence in Science Journalism in the same year, and Equal Opportunity Awards for Radio Journalism in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
From 1983 to 1989 she wrote the weekly Viewpoint column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
in Perth’s Community Newspapers
Community Newspapers
Community Newspapers Inc. is a subsidiary of Journal Communications based in New Berlin, Wisconsin. It publishes eight weekly newspapers in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. CNI has about 110 full-time employees and about 30 part-time employees....
group.
She has been an occasional guest presenter for the School of Isolated and Distance Education TV program Our Side Your Side.
She has also been a policy advisor to the Government of Western Australia
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
and is a past-President of the WA Women's Advisory Council to the Premier. Her past honorary positions include board memberships with the WA Alzheimer's Association and the Family Planning Association of WA.
Novels
- Gang of Four (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2004)
- Food, Sex & Money (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2005)
- Belly Dancing for Beginners (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2006)
- Trip of a Lifetime (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2008)
- Bad Behaviour (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2009)
- Last Chance Cafe (Pan Macmillan Australia, 2010)
Gang of Four was published in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 2007 as La bande des quarters by Les Presses de la Cite, and in Germany by Mohrbooks in 2008. Food, Sex & Money will be published in France by Presses de la Cite in 2009 and in Germany in 2010.
Non-fiction
- Behind the Bedroom Door: Alcoholism, the family disease (Veritas, 1984)
- Workwise: Getting a job and starting out (Nelson, 1985)
- Pills, Potions, People: Understanding the drug problem (Collins, 1985)
- Under the Influence: Growing up in alcoholic families (Collins, 1987).
- Facing Cancer: Searching for solutions (Collins, 1989, and revised and updated by Southern Cross University in 2002)
- The Grapevine Quick & Easy Cookbook (co-editor, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1996)
- Spectacular Australian Sea Rescues (New Holland, 1997)
- The Way Ahead: Prominent Australians talk about the future of our nation (New Holland, 1998)
- Western Australia - Land of Contrasts (New Holland, 1998)
- Speaking Out: Australian women talk about success (New Holland, 1999)
- Remember Me (Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2000)- translated into German and published in Germany by Piper Malik in 2001);
Academia
Byrski is a lecturerLecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and course coordinator for Professional Writing & Publishing at Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University is an Australian university based in Perth, Western Australia, with additional campuses in regional Western Australia and at Miri , Sydney and Singapore...
.
From 1996 to 2003 she was an Adjunct Teaching Fellow at Curtin, teaching Professional Writing, Journalism and Media Ethics.
From 1984 to 1988 she was a sessional tutor in print journalism at the-then Western Australia Institute of Technology
Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University is an Australian university based in Perth, Western Australia, with additional campuses in regional Western Australia and at Miri , Sydney and Singapore...
(now called Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University is an Australian university based in Perth, Western Australia, with additional campuses in regional Western Australia and at Miri , Sydney and Singapore...
).
Memberships
Byrski is a member of the Australian Journalist's Association section of the Media, Entertainment and Arts AllianceMedia, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries...
; the Australian Society of Authors
Australian Society of Authors
The Australian Society of Authors is the peak body representing Australia's literary creators and is the major advocate for the rights and remuneration of authors in Australia...
; and the National Writers’ Union
National Writers Union
National Writers Union , founded on November 19, 1981, is the trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers: journalists, book and short fiction authors, business and technical writers, web content providers, and poets...
(USA).