Writing

Creative non-fiction/memoir

Catherine writes short hybrid essays using prose and lyricism to investigate what lies hidden in the territory of the body or lingers in the hallways of the mind. She uses incidents from her past to reflect on contemporary issues and make visible the systems and places of injustice and inequality, while leaving room for the odd bit of levity!

Illustration for ‘From candles to chocolate’. Linocut by Judith Rodriguez, 1991

Fiction

Catherine’s novel-in-progress, Unspooled (working title), is a contemporary literary fiction work about a queer couple, Nat and Francesca, with a three-year-old daughter, Elly. As Nat deals with the revelation her biological father may be Iranian, the couple struggle with the tension between expressing their own identity and compromising for the sake of their relationship. As conflict develops between the couple, Nat risks losing both Francesca and Elly.

Poetry

  • ‘Following’ in Going Down Swinging, 1990.

  • ‘Untitled’ in Redoubt, Issue 7/8, Canberra College of Advanced Education, 1989

  • ‘I believe in Sweat’ in Women’s Circus: Leaping off the Edge, 1997

  • ‘The Song of the Returning’ in Visible Ink anthology, RMIT, 1990

  • ‘Tiger Balm’ in Outhouse anthology, RMIT, 1990

  • Bead Fireworks (a small booklet of 11 poems published with Judith Zarrella’s Casualty), editor Judith Rodriguez, RMIT, 1989

Fellowships

2022 Varuna Writer’s Space Online Fellowship for novel-in-progress.

2023 KSP Writing Fellowship for creative non-fiction essays.

The writing community

I feel privileged to be engaged with the Australian writing community. A big thank you to mentors and manuscript assessors Nadine Davidoff, Ros Bellamy and Kate Ryan. I am very grateful to Sarah Sentilles, for her insights, support, warmth and for the testimonial on the Welcome page. Through a connection with Sarah, I have appreciated the support of writers like Kate Mildenhall, Ashley Kalagian Blunt, Anne Myers, Ruth Melville, Jillian Langhammer, Annie Keely, Clara Brack, Suzanne Brown, Janenne Willis and Julie Perrin.

Thanks very much to Shokufeh Kavani, E.N., N.Z. and S.S. for their warmth and openness, for sharing their knowledge of Iranian culture and for their insightful feedback on the Iranian chapters in my novel.

Thanks also to writers from the Varuna alumni group such as Jane Messer, Beth Spencer, Anne Butt and Teresa Savage. And I am grateful to my life-saving and manuscript-saving Melbourne workshop group: Maryrose Cuskelly, Marilyn Miller, Chris Ringrose and Trish Bolton for sharing manuscripts, pizzas and drinks and for pivoting onto Zoom during Covid.

Thanks to Jax Jacki Brown for their support, inspiring strength and commitment to the LGBTIQA+ and disability communities. I also appreciated the insights of Sam Elkin and Ros Bellamy who read early extracts. Thanks so much.

Nathan Scolaro, thanks a lot for help with this website.

After a 2020 Curtis Brown Creative (UK) online course, Edit and Pitch your Novel, I connected with a wonderful group of international writers who I met in person in UK in June, 2023. Congratulations to Niamh McAnally and Ben Tufnell, the first two in the group to get their books published. We are currently planning to publish an anthology of our short stories.