Gillian Mears has been praised for her lyrical use of language and her unflinching bravery in confronting topics of betrayal, violence, sadness, sexuality and human relationships. She is the author of Ride a Cock Horse, Fineflour, The Mint Lawn, The Grass Sister, Collected Stories and Paradise is a Place and is a regular contributor of short stories to literary magazines and anthologies. Her short story ‘A Map of the Gardens’ won the 2001 Alan Marshall Short Story Award, and is the title story from her collection published in May 2002 by Pan Macmillan. She is currently working on another novel. 

Her writing is steeped in northern New South Wales country towns not unlike her home town of Grafton, and is preoccupied with family, memory and the experiences of women. Although she claims she is not particularly ‘lucid’ when it comes to the spoken word, she talked clearly and freely of her passion for writing at her home, north of Grafton.