Julia Baird is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and someone who has survived cancer—not once, but four times.
As the host of The Drum on ABC, and a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald, Julia is a seasoned journalist who won her first Walkley award in 1998 (her first year in the industry).
Julia completed a Bachelor degree, and later a PhD, in history, and in 2005 Julia was invited to attend Harvard University as a fellow. Julia’s research has always focused on the treatment of women and the social understanding of religion, and in 2018 the Australian University of Divinity recognised Julia’s substantial work, bestowing her a Doctor of Divinity.
Julia’s memoir Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things that Sustain Us When The World Goes Dark was named non-fiction book of the year in the 2021 Indie Book Awards, and won both Book of the Year and General Nonfiction Book of the Year at the 2021 Australian Book Industry Awards.
Julia’s book Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything was shortlisted for the 2024 Nonfiction Indie Book Award and the Australian Book Industry Awards nonfiction book of the year.
