Lisa's first book of poetry, Weave, appeared in 2004 (Frontenac House, Calgary) and was short-listed for an Alberta Book Award. Her second book, A Bad Year for Journalists, appeared in 2006, at which time she began working on a dramatic version of the text with the Toronto-based Skinny Leg Collective. The Bad Year project has received support from the Canada Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Lisa has also attended the Banff Writer's Studio and been part of the Wordfest Banff colloquium, and for the first three months of 2007, she was the Berton House writer-in-residence in Dawson City.
As a journalist and travel writer, Lisa has been thrown off a train in Belarus, been fed the world's best pigeon pie in Marrakech, mushed huskies in the Yukon, survived Kenya's Lunatic Line, and been cheated in the Venetian gambling halls of Ca' Vendramin Calergi. Born in Plymouth, England, Lisa grew up in Montreal, which gave her the jaywalking skills to survive as a journalist. Her articles have appeared in publications such as The Globe and Mail, The National Post, and The Chicago Tribune and she has written for guidebooks such as Fodor's, Time Out, and Michelin. Lisa has reported on culture in Europe, Canada and East Africa; she has also worked as a European correspondent for Billboard Magazine.
Lisa has taught travel writing at the Women's Institute of Continuing Education in Paris, and led creative writing workshops from Paris to the Yukon. From 2004 to 2006, Lisa toured the Canadian Fringe circuit as co-director and stage manager with the company Big Empty Barn Productions, as well as being involved in their performances in France and Britain. Her experience with theatre includes being the writer for two contemporary opera projects (Bedlam Voices, Vancouver and Absence & Steel, Amsterdam).
In 2006, she taught creative writing at the American University in Paris. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies such as 100 Poets Against the War (Salt, UK, 2003)and Short Fuse (Rattapallax Press, NY 2002) and in magazines like Fireweed, Fence, and New American Writing. Her chapbook, green as the three of diamonds, appeared in 1997 and was launched at the Kootenay School of Writing in Vancouver. In 1996, one of her poems was selected for a public art installation in Renfrew Park in Vancouver.
