Fiona McIntosh Bio

One of Australia’s best authors, Fiona McIntosh has been taking readers on journeys for over 20 years. Fiona’s first foray into commercial book writing came after a successful career with her own marketing and public relations consultancy, and then joining with her husband to publish Travel News Australia, a successful travel magazine.

Written in five weeks following a week-long masterclass with celebrated Australian author Bryce Courtenay, McIntosh’s first book – Betrayal – started the Trinity fantasy novel series, and her prolific career. As an internationally bestselling author, she has published over 40 books, had books translated into over 20 different languages and sold over a million copies worldwide.

Born and raised on the south coast of England, and then spending many years in West Africa as a child, Fiona moved to Australia with a dream of continuing to travel the world. Today, she separates her time between South Australia and Wiltshire in England, while still maintaining a home in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, and it is these locations where she has written some of her most prolific series, taking inspiration from her surroundings, as well as travelling to various locations, walking the paths of her future characters.

From Jack Hawksworth to Historical Romantic Adventure

Fiona McIntosh wrote her first books in the speculative fiction genre, a genre that questions humanity, society or technology in unfamiliar contexts. After her first 16 novels saw world-wide success, she made the move into historical romance and drama, taking readers into France and London in the 1960’s, Scotland in the early 1700’s and 1930’s South Australia. These books regularly hit the Top 10 shelves, even in the congested Christmas release period. Several of her historical novels have been optioned for film.

And then there is the crime series of Detective Jack Hawksworth, the Hawk series, that have been optioned for television.

There is more to come in the near future from one of the country’s bestselling authors – a historical novel in 2026, a new chapter in the Jack Hawksworth series, a crime novel in 2027, and a 2027 historical novel. While this seems like a lot, McIntosh realised she could write two books a year during the COVID lockdowns, and with her determination to compete only against herself, she sees this as an ongoing goal.

Teaching the Skills of Writing

Aside from writing several books a year, McIntosh runs one of Australia’s most successful writing masterclasses. Not only are these masterclasses highly regarded by the publishing industry, but they are responsible for some of the newest and hottest authors in Australia; in the 2020 – 2021 period alone, eight graduates were offered publishing contracts from major commercial book publishers, three were offered contracts with smaller publishers, while several others took their first steps into self-publishing.

Shortlisted: Harry and Gran Bake a Cake

Fiona McIntosh regularly features on awards nomination lists. Her children’s book, Harry and Gran Bake a Cake has been named on the shortlist for the 2026 Indie Book Awards under the Children’s Shortlist. Other shortlisted books include:

• 2010 Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards – The Rumpelgeist
• 2016 Australian Book Industry Awards – General Fiction Book of the Year – The Perfumer’s Secret
• 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards – General Fiction Book of the Year – The Chocolate Tin

Fiona was also shortlisted for the 2026 South Australian The Advertiser Sunday Mail SkyCity Woman of the Year Award.

The Method Behind the Books

Like many authors, Fiona McIntosh delves deeply into research for her books, often travelling the world to walk the same paths, and explore the same regions as characters in her story. Her usual pattern behind writing novels starts with reading anything she can about topics that relate to her story. For many books, she steps into the physical role of her characters. Orphan is a great example, where she took the opportunity to spend time with a fourth-generation funeral home owner and highly qualified mortician, and learning the history of the trade.

Fiona roams the locations she plans to include in her story, walking the streets of the suburbs and checking out major locations to get a feel for what a city or village would have been like in the time her latest novel is set. She has noted in interviews that this process doesn’t change, whether the novel is set in Australia, England or elsewhere. In other interviews, she has noted that she doesn’t plan her novels, and she doesn’t keep copious notes on settings or characters. She regularly references characters from earlier novels in new ones as an Easter Egg of sorts for loyal readers.

What book should you start with?

Ready to discover Fiona McIntosh? Where you start depends on your favoured genre. If you are interested in starting a series, here’s the order to read them in.

Trinity Series (fantasy) – Betrayal, Revenge, Destiny

The Quickening (fantasy)- Myrren’s Gift, Blood and Memory, Bridge of Souls

Percheron Series(fantasy)- Odalisque, Emissary, Goddess

DCI Jack Hawksworth series (crime) – Bye Bye Baby, Beautiful Death, Mirror Man, Dead Tide, Foul Play, Blood Pact

Valisar Series (fantasy)- Royal Exile, Tyrant’s Blood, King’s Wrath

Whisperer (magical fantasy for younger readers)- The Whisperer, The Rumpelgeist

Luc & Lisette (historical fiction)- The Lavender Keeper The French Promise

For those who prefer a standalone story, we recommend The Tailor’s Girl, The Sugar Palace, The Pearl Thief or The Tea Gardens.

Outside of Writing

Outside of writing and being an internationally bestselling author, Fiona McIntosh is a mother to two adult twin sons, and a grandmother. Her husband Ian has a family background with strong pastoral heritage on which Fiona regularly draws upon for ideas for her novels.