Zoe Boccabella was born in Brisbane in 1973. For many years, she worked as a writer, in media liaison and as a researcher for universities, government and the police service, as well as freelance. She has also worked for several restaurants and a delicatessen. Zoe has a Bachelor of Arts in literature and sociology, a Master of Philosophy, and has studied scriptwriting. Since childhood, she has loved to write, attempting her first novel, 'Tragedy Island', at age seven. These days Zoe is drawn to collecting spoken histories and the stories of migrants, and writes both memoir and fiction. She loves cooking handed-down family recipes as well as creating new ones, and also enjoys gardening and painting.