Tess is a physiotherapist by day and an author of contemporary fiction by night. Her most recent novel, The Venice Hotel, sold in a preempt deal to Penguin Germany after a bidding war and became an instant Top 10 Australian bestseller. The Venice Hotel was shortlisted as General Fiction Book of the Year in the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards.
Tess lives with her lovely and long-suffering husband. She’s a mother of two brilliant grown-up children and one grumpy grown-up cat. She’s completely obsessed with her Little Red Street Library and asks herself daily how she accidentally found herself directing a literary festival.