Joanna Baker was educated at The Friends’ School, Hobart and the Australian National University. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from RMIT Melbourne.
These days she divides her time between Albury and Hobart and writes murder mysteries set in the two places she loves: Tasmania and the wine and high country of northeast Victoria. She writes murder mysteries.
Joanna’s first novel, Devastation Road , won the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award for best young adult novel, and was reviewed in The Age, by Jane Sullivan as “an outstanding first novel”.
The Beechworth Trilogy
Devastation Road is set in Yackandandah. It is the first in a trilogy for young adults. The others are: The Elsinore Vanish, set in Beechworth, and Evermore, set in Bright.
In 2018, Devastation Road was re-released in paperback and ebook. The Elsinore Vanish and Evermore will be published in 2019.
The Tasmanian Novels
Joanna’s first Tasmanian novel is The Slipping Place, set in Hobart. It was published in November 2018. Sleeping Cold, set on Bruny Island, will appear in 2020.
“I have an abiding enthusiasm for murder mysteries. I don’t think they’re junk literature. I take them very seriously.” Joanna Baker
Joanna is happy to talk to reading groups or school groups about her work and enjoys encouraging reading and creative writing in young people … well, in people of any age.
Joanna has two other websites.
Joanna Baker: Writing Murder (joannabakerauthor.com) is an author website, which presents some of the ideas that lie behind Joanna’s books, as well as thoughts about crime writing and murder mysteries.
Tasmania Stories (Tasmaniastories.com) provides background stories and historical and cultural notes.
Riparian 