Cirrus@Austlit

Fiona Place received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney, and also attended the University of Technology, Sydney, where she attained a Graduate Diploma in Communication and a Master of Arts (Creative Writing). She has co-written a self-help book on overcoming eating disorders, When Eating Is Everything (1991), and also developed the programme 'Find and Own Your Own Voice' which was implemented at both Prince Henry and Westmead hospitals, where she worked as writer-in-residence. It incorporated her continued research into how creative writing can be of use in the recovery from certain psychiatric disorders. She has also lectured at the University of Western Sydney. An advocate for children with intellectual disabilities, her essays on motherhood and genetics have appeared in peer-reviewed journals.

Place has received several grants from the Literature Board of the Australia Council and in 1992 she was awarded the NSW Ministry for the Arts Writer's Fellowship for a book on travel writing. In 1993 she was a resident at the Keesing Studio, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris.

Latterly, Place has become interested in financial literacy, attaining a Certificate in Financial Markets from the SIA Institute. She has also contributed to the opinion page of the Australian Financial Review and had her own column 'Debt & Equity' in the Australian (1997-2002).