After working in publishing in Australia, Jemma Birrell moved to Paris, directing events at the iconic Parisian bookshop Shakespeare and Company, and co-directing FestivalandCo literary festival. Jemma then became Artistic Director of Sydney Writers’ Festival from 2012 til 2016. After the Festival, Jemma was a programming advisor to the PEN World Voices Festival in New York and became Creative Director at Tablo, hosting The Secret Life of Writers' podcast, and recently launching a new literary imprint called Tablo Tales. Jemma has also commissioned stories for the innovative platform Alexander and has been on the advisory arts board for The University of Technology, on the board of the National Young Writers' Festival, on the judging panel for the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships and an academy member of the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction.
