VANESSA CRAVEN

Vanessa Craven is a poet, author, artist, photographer and singer songwriter who lives in Daylesford, Australia, having made a tree change from Melbourne where she worked as a Health Sciences Librarian. She has built an eco friendly house and enjoys the joy of living in this beautiful area.

Vanessa hails from Mussoorie, a hill station in Northern India in the Himalaya Mountains, where she was born and lived for 25 years.

Music, art, painting, photography and writing are her loves.

Her father was Welsh and her mother North Indian, and both were teachers. She owes much to them for fostering a love of literature, art, music, photography and writing.

As a writer, a recent highlight is her first self published children's book, Birds in My Tree: The Magic of Birds and the Joy of Singing. Never would she have imagined that she would publish a children's book, but here it is. Covid lockdowns had a part to play in allowing her the time to appreciate nature, particularly the vibrant bird life around her. She just needed to stop and look around her, and as a result this book had to be written.

– See the APS Victoria Finalists compete for the crown of APS ‘26 Victoria State Final Champion at the 2026 Victoria APS Final on 10 October at The Wheeler Centre.