Fiona is an award-winning writer and arts critic based in the Blue Mountains. Her writing about disability, accessibility and the arts has appeared in The Guardian, ABC, The Saturday Paper, Griffith Review, The Big Issue. In 2021, her memoir about deafness (The Shape of Sound) was released in Australia, New Zealand, UK and North America. In 2022, it was highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and longlisted in the Australia Book Industry Awards (ABIA). She is a MacDowell Fellow (2022) and Peter Blazey Fellow (2024).
During her time at MKWC, Fiona will be working on her debut novel The Thirteenth Person. Unlike New Zealand, Australia’s legal system blocks deaf people from being jurors. The 13th person rule considers the presence of an interpreter in the room as a violation and interference of the 12-person jury. She hopes to highlight the flaws and misidentifications made in policing, justice system, mental health and addictions in Australia that affect marginalised people. In addition to writing, she hopes to research deaf rights in New Zealand.