Felicity Pulman (born 1945) is an Australian author with an interest in crime, history and fantasy. Her novels Ghost Boy and the Shalott trilogy reflect her fascination with such possibilities as knowledge travelling through time, ghosts, parallel realities and reincarnation. Her new medieval crime series for older teenagers, The Janna Mysteries, indulges her love of crime, history, plants and herbal healing. Her short stories for adults have won several awards. Many have also been published, as have Felicity's numerous articles on various topics including writing and the creative process. Felicity is a popular presenter at schools, conferences and writers festivals, where she talks about her work and/or gives workshops for students and budding authors.
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Born in Fort Victoria, Rhodesia,now known as Masvingo, Zimbabwe Felicity immigrated to Australia in 1970 and now considers herself an Australian. She began writing stories in primary school, but did not consider this as a serious career path until, at the age of 40, she went back to school to write the Higher School Certificate and then on to university to do a BA Communications degree, majoring in creative writing. An MA in Children's Literature followed, kindling a passion to write and tell stories for children and teenagers.
Her first young adult novel, a teen romance, was written for 'Dolly Fiction' under the pseudonym 'Anne Holmes', but all her novels thereafter have been published under her own name, beginning with Ghost Boy. Set partly at Sydney's Quarantine Station, with a flashback to the grisly history of the past, there is now a special Ghost Boy tour at the Quarantine Station for schools studying the novel. Her Shalott trilogy was inspired by the 'what if' questions arising from the poem, The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, as well as the legend of King Arthur and his knights, and stories from the Mabinogian. In it, five Australian teenagers try to rewrite the legend and save the life of the 'Lady of Shalott', but instead find themselves rewriting their own lives and destiny.
Felicity is now writing The Janna Mysteries, set in England in the 1140s at a time of civil war. In it, a young girl sets out to avenge her mother's death, solving crimes and mysteries along the way, including the mystery of her own birth and identity. There will be six novels in the series.
Felicity also writes crime and fantasy short stories, many of which have won awards and/or been published both in Australia and overseas. Felicity is married, with two children and four grandchildren.