Teena Raffa-Mulligan

Summary

Teena Raffa-Mulligan is a reader, writer and daydream believer with a life-long love of storytelling in all its forms. She writes for children and adults and her publications range from poetry and short stories to picture books, novels and short romances. Her writing life has also included a long career in journalism. Teena is an enthusiastic and inspirational presenter with a passion for encouraging people of all ages to write their own stories.

Biography

Teena Raffa-Mulligan writes for children and adults and her publications range from poetry and short fiction to picture books and novels. Her first published book was a stranger danger tale for young readers that was endorsed by the West Australian police and education departments of the day and used in schools around the country. That five minutes of fame introduced her to the joy of sharing her passion for writing with people of all ages. She is an enthusiastic and inspirational presenter who establishes an easy rapport with audiences from kindergarten to seniors. Teena's writing life has also included a long career as a journalist and editor.

Relevant qualifications

• From 1975 to 2010 — various positions as freelance journalist, general reporter, sub-editor, assistant editor and editor on newspapers and magazines. Highlights: sub-editor/relief editor at The Weekend Courier (prior to takeover by Community News), The Bay Weekly (2 years) and The Mandurah Mail (8 years); news editor at The Sound Telegraph (5 years).
• From 1987 to 2003 – partner in small business offering editorial and photography services, desktop publishing and public relations. Clients included Kwinana Town Council and Rockingham City Council.
• 2010-present - freelance copy editing and proof reading for authors and a small independent publishing house.

Recent experience

• Eight-week Memories to Memoir writing course for seniors presented for City of Rockingham, 2018
• Ten-week creative writing sessions presented for Friends of Rockingham Arts Centre (FoRAC) as part of the Let’s Face It (2017) and Out of the Blue (2018) community mental health projects
• Presenter at Rockingham Writers Convention 2017, panelist 2017 & 2018
• Presenter at Balingup Telling Tales Festival 2016 & 2017
• School holiday workshops and two semesters of Creative Writing sessions for children at Rockingham Writers Centre, 2017.
• Two semesters of Creative Writing sessions for seniors for MALA Rockingham, 2016
• 10-week Writing for Children Course for Rockingham Writers Centre, 2015
• Two-week author tour in Pilbara, 2014 for The Children’s Charity.
• Various 1/2 day writing workshops presented for Rockingham Writers Centre 2015-2019
• Guest author visits to schools and libraries during Children’s Book Week since 1982.