Gina Wilkinson

About

Gina Wilkinson is an Australian novelist, award-winning journalist, former foreign correspondent, and documentary filmmaker. During two decades of international reporting for organisations including the BBC, ABC, and NPR, she worked in some of the world’s most politically turbulent regions. She spent more than a year living and reporting in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein, where she experienced the constant surveillance and distrust that later informed her fiction. One of her close Iraqi friends was secretly reporting her movements to the authorities, giving her firsthand insight into how fear could infiltrate even intimate relationships. After her journalism career, Wilkinson turned to fiction while continuing to work in international development, supporting initiatives aimed at reducing poverty. Her debut novel, When the Apricots Bloom, draws on her experiences in Iraq to portray the lives of women navigating political repression, family obligations, and moral uncertainty. Through her storytelling, Wilkinson brings attention to ordinary people whose lives are shaped by conflict and political power, particularly women who must make extraordinary sacrifices to protect those they love. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.