Born in Canada and brought up in England, June emigrated to Australia in 1971 as a ten pound Pom. She lived in Western Australia until 2005 when she moved to Melbourne. She trained as an English and Drama teacher, but over the years pursued a number of different career paths before retiring from full time work in December 2008.

She decided to try her hand at writing after visiting her two daughters in Vancouver in 2009, and seeing an advertisement for a short story competition in the local newspaper there. The April 2010 Raspberry and Vine is the fourth competition she has entered.

While not directly involved in the Black Saturday bushfires, her partner knew several of those involved personally, including one who lost his life. This tragedy, and the documentary shown on television on the one year anniversary, moved her to write her fictional story “Phoenix”.

Apart from her burgeoning interest in writing, June enjoys reading, the theatre, jazz, and motorcycle riding!

To read June's winning entry "Phoenix", click here.