Elise Valmorbida has published journalism, poetry, short stories, three non-fiction books and four novels including The Madonna of the Mountains (Faber), which was translated into several languages and won Australia’s biggest literary award in 2019. The Madonna of the Mountains was The Times' ‘summer pick’ and ‘best new paperback’, an Edward Stanford Awards nominee, and one of the Walter Scott Prize 'Academy Recommends' List. For her work as script consultant, producer, and author of SAXON: The Making of a Guerrilla Film, Elise won the Edinburgh International Film Festival Trailblazer award. Her latest non-fiction work, The Happy Writing Book: Discover the Positive Power of Creative Writing, is inspired by her 20+ years of experience as writer and teacher. Elise has a firm belief that creative writing can deepen your appreciation of life, and empower you as an agent of positive change in the world.