Annamaria Weldon

Annamaria Weldon has lived in Western Australia since 1984. She was born, worked as a journalist and was first published as a poet in Malta. Weldon travelled widely; by the age of ten she had lived in Africa, Britain, Central America and Malta and spoke four languages. As an adult migrant to Western Australia, she continued her work in journalism and public relations. Widowed at forty-seven, Weldon made the transition to full-time creative writing. Her four full-length books are: Stone Mother Tongue (UWAP, 2018), The Lake’s Apprentice (UWAP, 2014), The Roof Milkers (Sunline Press, 2008) and Ropes of Sand (ANM, 1984). Her poetry, essays and short stories have been widely published in journals and anthologies (including in Purple Prose (2015), Fremantle Press), broadcast on Radio National and incorporated in multi-disciplinary presentations at art exhibitions and festivals. In 2011, she won the inaugural Nature Conservancy Australia Essay Prize. She has won several poetry awards. A former community writing facilitator and writer in Residence at SymbioticA, UWA and at St James Centre for Excellence, Malta, Weldon’s interests are cultural diversity, inclusivity and ecological awareness. She is writing an autobiography, drawing on memories of travel and creativity, before and after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.