About

Elaine @ Burnie Shines OB 012Elaine Harris was born and educated in England where she fell in love with books and words as soon as she could read. A born performer, she won her first reading prize aged seven and took starring roles in many school plays, including Ratty in “Toad of Toad Hall”, part of which was performed for school patron Princess Margaret.

Today she entertains her husband by reading to him on long car trips.

Elaine studied English at university where she could read oceans of good books and claim to be working hard – which of course she was.

Combining her love of words and performance, Elaine began her media career almost by accident soon after graduation. On the day she went for an informal interview for a job in radio, she found herself in the studio doing a live promotion for her first programme. She says she’s been making it up ever since.

While working predominantly in radio, she has also interviewed for television and been listed regularly in “The Who’s Who of Australian Women”. She won the inaugural Consumer affairs Communications Award in Canberra and was voted no.5 in the top ten radio presenters of all time for Tasmania. She has interviewed everyone from Audrey Hepburn and Rick Stein, through to the Cookie Monster and Easter Bunny; she even hosted a talkback with Santa, taking calls from hopeful children.

In the late 1990s, Elaine was asked to create a one-woman cabaret, for which she wrote and adapted a great deal of the material. “Are You Sitting Comfortably?” ran for two popular seasons and to critical acclaim.

Elaine has been writing for as long as she can remember and joined the world of publishing with two regular columns for a children’s online magazine. Since then she has had articles, poetry (or perverse verse) and fiction featured in print, online and subscription publications and work included in six anthologies. A national non-fiction prize in 2011 took her completely by surprise – she had forgotten she’d entered. A Pen or word-processor for hire, she has written about everything from dogs to gardens, health, books and writing.

The writing studio, or Scriptorium, where Elaine works overlooks the ocean with an ever-changing horizon which can be filled with storm clouds one minute and dazzling rainbows the next.

If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact Elaine.

For more History, Herstory or My Story or to contact Elaine