Wood joins team of Tassie voices

TASMANIAN author Danielle Wood has had great success writing under various pen names during the past two decades.

But now, the 47-year-old is set to reveal a little more about herself as one of TasWeekend’s new columnists. Wood is a married mother of three who grew up in Tasmania and writes from a gypsy caravan in the garden of her Otago Bay home. She shares the 1.2ha property with two dogs, two alpacas, a dozen chooks and also keeps bees.

The lecturer in creative writing at the University of Tasmania will share snippets of her daily life as one of three new columnists in TasWeekend, which returns on Saturday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit our state in March.

Wood will be joined by clinical psychologist and theatre enthusiast Cassie Xintavelonis and speech pathologist, criminologist and former Tasmanian Australian of the Year Rosie Martin, with all three women set to offer fresh, candid perspectives on what it’s like living in our island state during these challenging and uncertain times.

Wood is a former Mercury journalist who wrote the Australian/Vogel’s prizewinning novel The Alphabet of Light and Dark under her own name, along with other award-winning works of fiction and nonfiction.

As Minnie Darke, she is the author of international bestseller Star-crossed and The Lost Love Song. She also collaborates with fellow Tasmanian author Heather Rose under the pen name Angelica Banks, author of the Tuesday McGillycuddy books for children.

The first edition of TasWeekend will also introduce readers to our local Farmer Wants a Wife contestant Nick Onassis, who owns a vineyard in the stunning Tamar Valley wine region and is looking for love.

Readers can also explore the shores of pristine and peaceful Flinders Island, or learn more about a unique youth project in one of the state’s lowest socio-economic areas which is inspiring students to dream big.