Annette Wickes began writing seriously in 1988 when she studied creative writing with Madeleine Brunato and joined the Fellowship of Australian Writers. She became secretary of the state branch of the FAW in 1996 and still held that position in 2000, as well as being a member of the SA Writers' Centre and the Australian Society of Authors.
She says that her themes and settings have been influenced by her 1950s childhood in Burra, her 28 years spent teaching in various parts of the state, a year as an exchange teacher in England, her Christian beliefs, a passion for football, a long involvement with amateur theatre and her love of the Fleurieu Peninsula, where she has lived since 1985.