Podcast Interviews

Who doesn’t love a poddy – they make daily commutes and chores whizz by in a flash! If listening to authors share how and why they wrote their books, and their journeys to publication (hint: long and winding with more than a few bumps in the road) are your cup of tea . . . then pop the kettle on, and click on any of the links below for chats I’ve had with wonderful peeps in the Australian publishing, education and wellness/mindset worlds!

Learn Play Thrive – for Early Years Educators (2025); Words and Nerds, TAKEOVER (2024); Unley Libraries, Juvenilia Interview (2024); Reading with a Chance of Tacos (2024); Happiness Hive (2023); One More Page (2022); Girl and Duck (2022); Living Arts Canberra (2021).

The Official Bit – My Biography

Emma Bowd is an internationally published and award-winning author of books for adults and children; and a dedicated literacy and disability advocate.

A former occupational therapist, she is passionate about writing inclusive picture books that capture the joy of childhood through imaginative and nature-based play. Her middle-grade writing has been shortlisted in literary competitions in Australia, while her fiction and non-fiction books for adults have been published widely overseas (Bloomsbury, UK; Ryland, Peters & Small, UK; US; Germany; Netherlands).

Her two bestselling picture books ‘The Day You Were Born’ (illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper, Affirm Press, 2023) and ‘This Is My Happy Place’ (illustrated by Jen Khatun, Affirm Press, 2024) followed her acclaimed debut, ‘Wonderful Shoes’ (illustrated by Tania McCartney, Windy Hollow Books, 2021) which was awarded a CBCA Notable Book (Early Childhood, 2022) and features on Play School Story Time (ABC Kids TV, iView, Series 5). ‘The Day You Were Born’ was also longlisted for the 2024 Australian Book Design Association’s (ABDA) ‘Best Designed Children’s Picture Book’.

Emma delights in writing her children’s picture books in rhyme, and is excited to have several new titles being published in the coming years – the first of which is ‘The Christmas Tree Catastrophe’ (illustrated by Matt Shanks, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2025).

An active member of the children’s book community in Australia, Emma was invited to be an official Committee Member of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA), Victoria Branch, in 2025.

An in-demand speaker and storytime presenter at schools, libraries, bookshops and literature festivals, Emma enjoys sharing her love of words and creativity, along with her inspiring author journey. She has called Malaysia, London and many parts of Australia home – and is happiest filling her life with family, friends, nature, travel and, of course, books!

Now based in Melbourne, Emma can be contacted for classroom and speaking events via Booked Out Speakers Agency.

A little bit more about Emma and her writing, literacy advocacy and DEED bags

Emma enjoys a happy creative life with a strong emphasis on giving back to the community.

Emma pursued healthcare and corporate careers after graduating from the University of Queensland with a double degree in Science (psychology, biochemistry and chemistry) and Occupational Therapy (First Class Honours). After working in general medicine, neurology and paediatrics she specialized in industrial ergonomics and workplace healthcare – swapping her sling-backs for steel-capped boots and treading the factory floors at companies such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors Holden and Rover.

But it was complex report writing, and managing large healthcare teams in London for NHS Trusts and Insurance Companies, where she worked for eleven years, which ultimately sowed the seeds to her future writing career. And when she became a new mum in the early 2000s, she was both surprised and thrilled to find her creative-writing interests come to the fore – resulting in the publication of her non-fiction and commercial fiction titles for adults with Ryland, Peters and Small (A Passion for Shoes; A Passion for Handbags, 2002) and Bloomsbury (The Shoe Princess’s Guide to the Galaxy, 2009).

Emma has supported Melbourne-based children’s education charity, Ardoch, as an Ambassador from 2006-2024. In 2016 Emma was invited by Ardoch to help establish their ‘Writer in Residence’ Program – which thanks to generous corporate funding, enabled over a dozen published authors to be placed in 27 schools in 2024, in communities of need, and run 36 Writer In Residence Programs, along with an expansion of the program to Sydney. Emma is passionate about Early Childhood Education and getting quality childhood literature into the hands of as many young children as possible before they start school.

In 2017, Emma expanded her creative pursuits to follow her dream of starting her own slow fashion, small business, DEED bags – where she designed and hand made bespoke tote bags in her sustainable studio; and gave back to charity via awareness raising campaigns and donations through every bag sold, along with regular social media fundraising auctions. She closed her DEED bags studio in 2022, after five successful years and more than $6,000 donated to Ardoch, to focus on her writing and presenting work for children.