gabriella about

About Gabriella Kelly-Davies

Founder, Share your life story

The smoke was settling from the new millennium fireworks on 1 January 2000 and I was dreaming about my ideal future.

From a young age, I’d devoured memoirs and biographies and the local library couldn’t keep up with my requests for new books.

Then it dawned on me. Maybe I should write memoirs, life stories and biographies as well as read them? It was like a light bulb exploded in my head. My spine tingled, and the hairs on the back of my neck bristled with excitement.

So that’s what I did. I started off by writing stories about people in my life who inspired me. I even approached people I barely knew who were doing amazing things and asked them if I could write about them.

I enrolled in a 12-month biography writing course at Oxford University and studied creative non-fiction at Sydney University and biography and history at the Australian National University.

In 2019, I began a PhD in biography at Sydney University. The creative component of my PhD is Breaking Through the Pain Barrier. The Extraordinary Life of Dr Michael J. Cousins, the biography of Australia’s foremost pain medicine pioneer. The book was published in 2021 and launched by the peak advocacy body, Painaustralia.

The theoretical component of my PhD, Choices, Choices, Choices: One Biographer’s Experience, explores the choices I made while writing Breaking Through the Pain Barrier and what scholars and biographers say about them.

In 2023, I spent the Trinity term at Oxford University’s Centre for Life Writing as a visiting doctoral student. Every conversation, tutorial, writing workshop and meeting with scholars across biography, life writing, English Literature, medical humanities and the history of medicine sparked ideas that resulted in breakthroughs in my writing.

After returning from Oxford, I launched “Biographers in Conversation“, a weekly podcast of interviews with biographers about the choices they made while researching, writing and publishing their books. Here’s a sneek peak of the biographers I’ll chat with in Season One. 

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After turning my passion into my profession I feel blessed to have the privilege of helping people like you leave a lasting legacy.

I believe a memoir or life story is a tremendous legacy you can leave your loved ones and generations to come. Your memories are precious. Writing a memoir is about remembering. It’s about preserving and sharing your life journey—your story. 

Your family wants to remember the special moments, anecdotes and quirky things that make you who you are. They also want to know the lessons you’ve learned along the way. If you capture your stories now, you’ll create a treasure for you, your children, friends…and generations to come. The great news is that everyone can share their life story. 

We can get started with a free no-obligation consultation about your wishes for a memoir or life story. If you decide to proceed, we’ll give you a questionnaire to fill out to jog your memory. Then we’ll do a series of interviews until we’ve captured your story. We’ll do the writing and all you have to do is proofread it.  Sound simple? Let’s get going.

My clients tell me time and again they love the stories I write for them. They find the process simple and fun.

‘Gabriella made the process so easy.’
Filomena.

Through it all I’ve come to truly believe one thing:

Everyone has a story to tell.

Let’s start telling your story today.

Gabriella Kelly-Davies
Mobile: 0408 256 381
Email:  [email protected]

Memberships

Biographers International Organization

Convenor, Science and Medicine Roundtable, Biographers International Organization

International Auto/biography Association

Australian Society of Authors

Immediate Past President, Life Stories Australia Association

Writing NSW

Women Writers NSW

Hawkeye Manuscript Development Prize: Shortlisted 2021

Faber Writing Academy Scholarship: Writing True Stories

Gold Quill Award: International Association of Business Communicators

Excellence Award: Australian Marketing Institute

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Life Stories
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W writning NSW
Gold Gild
AMI