Dr Susan
Mitchell

Speaker Profile

Dr Susan Mitchell broke new ground when she wrote her first book Tall Poppies, intimate portraits of successful Australian women. In her following fourteen best-selling and highly acclaimed books she has continued to document and celebrate the vital and dynamic lives of Australian women in sport, politics, the arts, business and many other aspects of Australian life.

Her book Icons, Saints and Divas documents her ten days with the ten most influential women writers in America and the world. Most recently she has published the biography of Margaret Whitlam and a collection of portraits of Sonia McMahon, Tamie Fraser and Janette Howard. She has also written a non-fiction/fiction account of the worst serial murders in Australia, the 'bodies-in-the barrel' killings titled All Things Bright and Beautiful, an inspirational book on the power of praise titled Be Bold and her latest, soon to be published book, titled Kiss My Assets , which deals with how to make the most of your life after fifty.

Susan has a BA from Adelaide University, an MA in Drama and Film from Flinders University and has just completed a PhD in Creative Arts at the University of Western Sydney. She is a former senior lecturer in Communications and Creative Writing at The University of South Australia. She is an Emeritus Professor at Flinders University where was recently a Writer-in-Residence and gave the prestigious Elford Lecture on 'The Essential Australian Voice'.

Susan is an accomplished radio broadcaster, having presented the morning program on the ABC in Adelaide (where she won The Better Hearing Award for clear speech) and the morning program in Brisbane, the early evening and the midnight to dawn program on 2GB in Sydney and the morning program with Maggie Tabberer on 2UE in Sydney. She was the first television critic on television in Australia on the ABC's Program Today at One and has hosted her own series of interview programs including Tall Poppies and In Conversation with Susan Mitchell on the ABC and Vote 1 for Women on Foxtel. She has also been a cocktail waitress at the Hindhead Country Club in Surrey and a film extra in Crocodile Dundee.

As a journalist she has had a regular column in the Opinion section of The Australian dealing with political and social issues. She is also well known for her robust sense of humour and had a regular humour column in 'TheWry Side' in The Australian. She has written feature articles in major newspapers and magazines in Australia and the USA.

She has been a Director on the Literature Board of The Australia Council, on the Board of Film Australia and the Board of The South Australian Tourism Commission.

As a passionate communicator to the widest possible audience, she is currently a professional media and corporate MC and trainer, an inspiring and humorous public speaker for both public and corporate orgainsations, a personal teacher of creative writing, biography and memoirs, and a professional author.

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