Sue Goss was born Susan Wills Cooke on 23 March 1948, at Kew Victoria. Educated at Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School, she won a Commonwealth Scholarship to the University of Melbourne where she majored in the History and Philosophy of Science and went on to complete a Diploma of Education. After several attempts at teaching she turned to bookselling and travelled to England in 1971 to train with the British Booksellers Association. Declared an 'illegal alien' when UK joined the Common Market, she disappeared in Wales where she wrote her autobiography, Ragged Owlet, which was published by Arrow Books, London, in 1979. Susan went to live in Scotland while writing her novel, Memory’s Dancer, which was finally published by Harvester Press, UK, in 1987, after she returned to Australia as a bookseller, journalist, teacher and editor. Meanwhile, she lived, worked and travelled in UK, Europe and North America.
Sue Goss was married to Andrew, from Cambridge, UK, in 1981 and they have three children. Between 1989 and 2012 she was the major contributor to the education and careers supplements for the Age newspaper, Melbourne. She has taught creative writing at Box Hill TAFE and several community organisations as well as editing the writings of specialist groups. She continues to teach, write and collect oral and family histories from people with convict ancestors like herself.
(Autobiography supplied by author.)
