Jennifer Liston grew up in Co Galway, Ireland and has returned to live in Ireland after more than 30 years in Australia (Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide).

She is author of a chapbook, Lycanthrope (Garron Publishing, 2018) and three poetry collections: Lead Skeletons (White Wave Press, 2010), 17 poems: one for every year of innocence (White Wave Press, 2008), and Exposure (Ginninderra Press, 2003).

Her fourth full collection, Grace Notes, was published by Salmon Poetry in October 2024. Jennifer performed some of the poems and songs from this collection in her five sold-out solo shows ‘Grace O’Malley, Irish Rebel, Pirate Queen’ at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020 and in regional South Australia.

Jennifer’s poems have been published in many journals and anthologies including Jacket2, The Canberra Times, The Australian Poetry Anthology, Best Australian Poems, Cordite Poetry Review, Verity La, Transnational Literature, The Found Poetry Review, Young Ravens Literary Review, The Mozzie, InDaily, Patterns of Living, Light and Glorie, and Poems in Perspex.

Her poem ‘Egg’ was shortlisted for the Max Harris 2007 Poetry Award. Her poem ‘Yesterday’s images’ was published as part of the Letter.Box.Stamp.Collect. installation by Pascalle Burton for the Queensland Poetry Festival in August 2013. Her poetry featured in the Raining Poetry in Adelaide project in 2017 and 2018.

She has read at several Irish and Australian poetry events and on radio in Ireland and Australia. She is an electronic engineer and holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide.

Jennifer is a singer songwriter and keyboard player. She played keyboards and sang backing vocals in many originals bands while living in Australia. In Adelaide she was lead singer of ‘Talk on Corners’, a tribute band to popular Irish group The Corrs. The band performed regularly around the city. Some of her original songs have been played on commercial radio in Australia.