Fiona McDonald is an Australian author, artist, and doctoral researcher at the University of New England. A published writer of children’s fiction and social history, she is also the co-founder of Christmas Press and Eagle Books, established with Sophie Masson.
Working across writing, visual art, doll-making, and textile arts, Fiona brings together storytelling, making, and research in an interdisciplinary creative practice. Her current doctoral research, The Art of Conversation, explores sustained human–AI dialogue as a form of research-creation, investigating how inner landscapes—including the Wildwood, a geography of thought that emerges through conversation and making—can shape creative and intellectual practice.
Fiona will also present her research at the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) Conference in December 2026.
At HLF–WWK 2027, Fiona brings together literature, art, craft, philosophy, and emerging conversations around creativity and artificial intelligence.