Maura is an author and playwright who enjoys writing fiction for children and young adults. The Trouble in Tune Town is her first children’s picture book, published in August 2017, and has just been awarded Joint Winner for Best Children’s Illustrated E-Book in the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY).

Maura was also named winner of the CBCA Aspiring Writers Mentorship 2017, and recipient of the Charlotte Waring Barton Award, for her young adult manuscript, Freefalling. Her short plays have been performed in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, with one winning an international monologue competition in 2016 and another being redeveloped as a full-length play as part of a KSP Fellowship.

In addition to her creative writing achievements, Maura has worked as an ethicist, medical video writer/producer, small business owner, freelance journalist and editor of Australian Medicine. She has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate, each in philosophy.

Maura is currently completing a young adult novel, which she hopes will be published in 2019. She is also working on a full-length play and a monologue project on the theme of mental health.

Maura lives in Canberra with her husband, Kieran and three children – a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the Bronx, where she grew up.