Gabriella Kelly-Davies is a doctoral student in biography at Sydney University and has studied biography and history at the National Centre of Biography at the Australian National University. She was a visiting doctoral student at Oxford University’s Centre for Life Writing in 2023 and has studied narrative nonfiction at Sydney University and creative writing at the University of Technology (Sydney).
Her PhD, which will be submitted in July 2024, includes two components: Breaking through the pain barrier. The extraordinary life of Dr Michael J. Cousins, the biography of Australian’s foremost pain medicine pioneer, and a dissertation, Choices, Choices, Choices: One Biographer’s Experience. Choices, Choices, Choices explores many of the choices she made while writing Michael Cousins’s biography and the views of biographers and literary scholars about similar choices.
Every month, Gabriella convenes a roundtable with science biographers for Biographers International Organisation (BIO). She is also chairing a BIO panel discussion in New York in May 2024: Melding Science and Biography about how biographers weave science, medicine and technological innovation into life stories. Gabriella has a weekly podcast, Biographers in Conversation, of interviews with biographers about the choices they made while researching, writing and publishing their biographies.
What inspired you to be a writer?
I started writing stories as soon as I learned the alphabet. I live to write and cannot imagine a future in which I don’t write every day. Its like trying to contemplate not starting the day with a strong espresso.
What prompted you to write 'Breaking Through The Pain Barrier: The Extraordinary Life of Dr Michael J. Cousins?'
I had heard professor Michael Cousins, my pain specialist, was a savvy political operator, formidable negotiator and relentless campaigner for the rights of people living with chronic pain. This intrigued me because it contradicted my experience of him as a kind, gentle doctor. It sparked my curiosity about who he was as a person and how he reconciled the conflicting aspects of his personality. Understanding this paradox was my inspiration for writing his biography.
Do you have any more books in the pipeline?
Yes, I’m writing a non-fiction book about the choices biographers make while researching, writing and publishing their books.
What is your professional background?
My first career was as a physiotherapist then I moved into federal politics, public affairs and corporate communications after completing an MBA and Masters Degree in Public Affairs. My favourite tasks included writing speeches, media releases, strategy and policy documents, profiles of prominent people and major documents such as annual reports and quarterly magazines. In my leisure time, my passion was writing memoirs and life stories about people who inspired me. When I retired, I turned this passion into a memoir writing business, Share your life story.
Any advice you’d like to give aspiring writers?
Learn the art and craft of writing through courses, connect with other writers, join a writing group to workshop your writing and make writing a daily habit. Also, believe in yourself and never give up. Persevere!
Who/what inspires you?
Kind, generous people who exhibit values of honesty, integrity, generosity and empathy.
What are your hobbies, interests and favourite books?
My major hobby is writing biography, combined with walking through forests and along the coast, listening to jazz, attending writers’ and early music festivals and spending quality time with my grandchildren, husband and close friends. My favourite books are biographies written by authors such as Hermione Lee, Claire Tomalin, Bernadette Brennan, Ann-Marie Priest, Kenneth Miller, Mark McKenna and Ryan Cropp to name a few.
How can readers contact you?
Email: Gabriella@shareyourlifestory.com.au
Websites: www.shareyourlifestory.com.au
www.biographersinconversation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Letsshareyourlifestory
Instagram: @biographersinconversation
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-kelly-davies-a9227589/
Contact via: Hawkeye Contact Page
“How does one choose narrative strategy. One Biographer’s Experience”: https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n11954/html/09_kelly_davies.xhtml?referer=&page=13#
Biographers in Conversation, my podcast of interviews with biographers about the choices they made while researching, writing and publishing their books. Launching 6 March 2024. www.biographersinconversation.com
Gabriella Kelly-Davies on writing biographies of scientists and doctors and much more, A Life in Biography, 10 June 2023, https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carl-rollyson/episodes/Gabriella-Kelly-Davies-on-writing-biographies-of-scientists-and-doctors-and-much-more-e25hkvp
Between the Covers podcast: ‘Speaking with the Australian author Gabriella Kelly-Davies, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23816666/.
“Mover of Mountains” Mosman Daily article, https://www.shareyourlifestory.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mosman-Daily-Thursday-August-5-2021-pages-from-12-to-15.pdf
