About Liezl Shnookal Australian Author of Contemporary Fiction
Meet Liezl Shnookal
An award-winning Australian author, Liezl writes stories that resonate, challenge, and inspire. With a passion for the written word and a deep commitment to craft, she brings emotional honesty and bold insight to her contemporary fiction in all its forms.
Discover Liezl Shnookal's Novels, Short Stories, and Photojournals
Liezl’s latest novels, Nikki vs Jess and Off Track, are powerful coming-of-age stories about friendship, identity, love, and loss. Each follows bold, complex characters fighting to break free from the confines of family and societal expectations to forge their own futures. Both novels are inspired by real people and true events.
Her short stories – free to read – are strikingly diverse, shifting in tone from sharp satire to heartfelt reflection. For example, one pokes fun at society’s obsession with murder mysteries and reality TV, while another offers a personal account of sitting beside survivors of the Black Saturday bushfires. Each one offers a fresh and unexpected perspective.
Inspired by her travels through wild and beautiful places, Liezl’s photojournals blend striking images with storytelling that deepen our connection to both the natural world and to one another.
Inspiration and Influences
Liezl Shnookal is a third-generation feminist, a passionate environmentalist, and a committed advocate for social equality. As such, her writing draws inspiration from the natural world, from people who challenge convention, and from the social issues that affect our lives. She lives on her bushland property near Naarm/Melbourne — surroundings that sparked the ethos and name of her website, Bush Telegraph XPress.
Liezl Shnookal: Awards and Recognition
Nikki vs Jess and Off Track (Second Edition) both received the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in 2024. Liezl’s short story Sitting Beside Bushfire Survivors won the Writers’ Web competition.
Professional Background
Liezl Shnookal holds a Master of Arts in fiction writing from Monash University and has taught Creative Writing at several universities. She also has teaching qualifications in English and ESL, along with a postgraduate degree in Community Development. Liezl's wide-ranging professional experience across the fields of education and social justice has served as a catalyst for many of her stories' themes and characters.
