Astrid Edwards

Education Consultant, Social Issues, Storyteller

Astrid Edwards is an interviewer, podcaster and advocate.

She is a bibliophile and hosts two bookish podcasts – The Garret: Writers on Writing and Anonymous Was A Woman. She serves as the Deputy Chair of Melbourne Writers Festival and teaches professional writing at RMIT University.

Astrid has Multiple Sclerosis and is a Member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council advising the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers.

Where were you born?

I was born in Sydney and moved to Melbourne when I was 30. I know all about the rivalry between the two cities, but I now consider both home. I have close family in both cities, as well as in London in the UK and Phoenix and St Louis in the USA.

What other jobs have you had?

I have done some odd things. I’ve taught Classical Latin at a private girls high school, represented the Australian Government at the United Nations in New York, and worked for a private intelligence agency. But one of my favourite jobs has to be my first real job – I was a bookseller, and few things have topped that.

What themes are recurring in your work?

Words matter, and so do the stories we tell ourselves.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Richard Fidler – one of Australia’s best interviewers and well-known radio hosts – praising my interview style and agreeing to be interviewed by me three times!

Where have your works been published?

My book reviews are published in The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Future Women, Kill Your Darlings, Australian Foreign Affairs and Australian Book Review. I am also a contributor to Growing Up Disabled in Australia (2021) edited by Carly Findlay.

What are you passionate about?

Reading, writing and storytelling. The climate crisis. Social justice.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Maybe – I’ve done a few TV and radio spots for literary and disability advocacy. More likely though, you’ve heard my voice on either The Garret: Writers on Writing or Anonymous Was A Woman, or possibly even my guest spot on The Guilty Feminist.

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

Reading is the key to everything for me, and honestly, one day I’d like to spend my days doing only that.